


Specials

by xCabooseRTRvB



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Betrayal, Coma, Discrimination, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fake AH Crew, False Accusations, Female!Jack, Finding Gender Identity, Hybrids, Insomnia, Kidnapping, Loneliness, M/M, Near Death Experience, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rating May Change, Slow Build, Smoking, Suicide, Superpowers, Taurus is the only RWBY character in this, Torture, agender!Caleb, as story progresses, attempted suicide, mention of rape, mentions of branding, possible suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:37:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 80,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7978633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xCabooseRTRvB/pseuds/xCabooseRTRvB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Fake AH Crew.</p>
<p>A team of unique people who could take care of themselves, but still work as a team when needed. They needed to get along and they couldn't hesitate unless they wanted to be killed. There was nothing that could stop them if Geoff was able to form the most unstoppable team of killers ever known to Los Santos. If he needed a team, he needed specifics.</p>
<p>-OR-</p>
<p>A shapeshifter, a bird hybrid, a deadpan, a blood user, a positive thinker, and a fire user all crammed into the Fake AH Crew. Huh, who would've thought they'd all survive each other for more than a day.</p>
<p>THERE IS NOW A <a href="https://specialsofficial.tumblr.com">TUMBLR</a> ASK AND INFO BLOG FOR THIS STORY!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Former Main Six

Geoff was thinking and watching carefully. He thought about what he was going to do and how he was going to do it. He examined every bar, every store, every dark alley to find the perfect set of people for his upcoming plan. He watched people fight, cut, and steal for top dog and now he was thinking about it himself. There was no way he's going to fail.

The Fake AH Crew.

A team of unique people who could take care of themselves, but still work as a team when needed. They needed to get along and they couldn't hesitate unless they wanted to be killed. There was nothing that could stop them if Geoff was able to form the most unstoppable team of killers ever known to Los Santos. If he needed a team, he needed specifics.

°~∆∆∆~°

_A sniper, perfect shot._

Geoff smirked as he watched Ray Narvaez Jr. shoot a moving target from a couple hundred yards away with a precise well timed shot. Ray reloaded and placed the sniper down, wiping the sweat off his forehead and sighing. “If you're going to just stand there and watch, the least you could do is start up a conversation.” Ray stood and dusted himself off, turning to Geoff and offering a hand. “Ray Narvaez Jr., the best shot in all of Los Santos.”

Geoff shook his hand and smiled at him, “Ray, I believe you know why I'm here.”

Ray nodded and picked up his obnoxiously pink sniper rifle, beginning to pick it apart bit by bit and placing the compartments in its rightful place in a case. “New team, huh?” Ray scoffed, “That's bold, especially since everyone is fighting for the top.”

“I have a plan and if I get the right team, we’ll be able to do it.” Geoff assured.

Raising a brow at Geoff, Ray watched him carefully and put the last piece of the rifle in the case, “Suppose you do get your dream team, then what? We just start heisting until we all possibly die?”

Geoff shook his head, “There's a lot more to it. You just have to agree. Are you in?” Geoff asked hopefully.

Ray sighed and closed the case, locking it and carrying it. He turned to Geoff and nodded, “Let's go.”

°~∆∆∆~°

_An assassin._

Walking frantically into the room, Geoff looked around and spotted Ray on the couch cleaning his rifle. “Ray, you would not believe who I found!” Geoff said excitedly.

“Is it Santa Claus?” Ray asked sarcastically as he cleaned the chamber carefully. “Actually, I hope it's Carmen Sandiego, she stole my money at some point.”

“Nope, I found the Vagabond!” Geoff said pridefully as Ray’s jaw almost dropped.

“ _The_ Vagabond?” Ray asked and frowned, “Geoff, he's dangerous. So dangerous, in fact, that he could probably murder you with his mind. A single thought could possibly end both of our lives. You can't recruit him, Geoff.”

“Ray, it'll be okay. I heard everything about the Vagabond and what he could do. There is no way he's going to hurt someone innocent.” Geoff assured and smiled as Ray put down the chamber of his sniper and stood up.

“Innocent? Have you seen us?” He walked passed Geoff and into the kitchen, grabbing a water bottle. “Look, I know you want to do this, but we’re not getting to the top if we’re all dead. Just wait on it, ask him last.” Ray opened the bottle and drank from it.

Geoff rubbed the back of his neck, “I may have already asked him to come over.” Geoff said slowly and guiltily as Ray almost did a spit take, choking on the water.

“Geoff, what the hell?!” Ray shouted and coughed. “He's going to kill us before we even--”

“I'm not a ruthless killer who has no intent.” The Vagabond said as the two froze and turned around seeing the cold skull mask stare back at them.

Ray pulled out his handgun and aimed it at the Vagabond, “You stay there and we’ll stay here. Try anything and I end you.”

“You're a master marksman.” The Vagabond noted quickly, “You're terrified of me, yet your hands are steady.”

“You don't know shit about me.” Ray deadpanned and glared at the Vagabond.

Geoff placed his hand over the handgun and lowered it a bit, “Let's talk first, then we’ll see what happens.” Geoff said, mostly talking to Ray who clenched his jaw before holstering his weapon in frustration. “Good, now Vagabond I'm sure you're aware on why I called you here.”

The Vagabond nodded once, “You want to start a new Crew. If I know that information and so does that marksman you have over there, everyone knows and that means you have competition. Everyone knows that you’ll be after them. So the question remains, what's the point of me joining this little Crew of yours? What's different with yours?”

“The ultimate Crew. Unstoppable and unbeatable. With this team I'm currently trying to create, we’ll make it to the top in no time. Plus, there's a few gangs out there that run this city, but no one runs it themselves because it'll be us. No question. We’re going to make history.” Geoff explained briefly as the Vagabond crossed his arms over his chest expectantly. Geoff sighed, “I know what you want, but I can't give it to you unless you stay with us. It'll be our first mission once we gather everyone we need.”

The Vagabond huffed and nodded, extending a hand to shake as Geoff walked over and firmly grasped it, shaking hands with the assassin. “Afterwards, I'm on my own.”

“You've got a deal.” Geoff agreed as Ray narrowed his eyes at the two.

°~∆∆∆~°

_A wildcard._

“Ray, my sources tell me that you know the next person we’re recruiting.” Geoff said and put a few files away in a safe, locking it. “Do you know someone named Michael Jones?”

Ray rolled his eyes and tapped on the buttons on his hot pink DS, “If your sources are the Vagabond spying on me as I hang out with Michael, then your sources are right. I do know Michael, and he's retired from the business as far as I know.”

“Actually, I was spying on Michael and trust me he hasn't left the business.” The Vagabond corrected and took Diet Coke out of the refrigerator.

“Are you addicted to Diet Coke or some shit, Vagabond? Also, do you even have a face under that mask you always wear?” Ray asked and rolled his eyes as the Vagabond flipped him off and walked for his room. Ray sighed, “When are we moving to the next safe house, Geoff?”

Geoff walked over and plopped down on the couch, “After you tell me everything you know about Michael and recruit him, we’ll move.”

“Good, because I'm not too fond of this part of the city.” Ray replied and paused his game, turning to Geoff. “Michael is a wildcard. He will literally fuck you up with anything he has on him. He mostly has explosives on him anyway and he's dangerous in a Special kind of way.”

“Special kind of way?” Geoff echoed in confusion. “Do you mean he's a Special?”

Ray nodded reluctantly, “All I have to say is don't tell him a joke.” The sniper stood and stretched, “As for recruiting Michael, I got it. He’ll trust me.”

Geoff watched Ray for a bit, “Are you sure?”

“I've known Michael for years. He’ll take the job.” Ray assured and walked for the door, “Better start packing.” The sniper said with a smile and exited the safe house.

°~∆∆∆~°

_A master negotiator._

“A bird hybrid? So he's a Special?” The Vagabond asked and frowned, “What's his expertise?”

Geoff smiled as Michael watched Geoff carefully for a bit before Ray nudged him lightly and shook his head. “He’ll be the negotiator of the Crew. He sets up the deals and strongly persuades anyone in our favor. I've seen him in action, he's professional and about the best option we've got.”

“Having a Special as our negotiator is dangerous, Geoff, especially since he has fucking wings protruding from his back.” The sniper said, “But if you think he's the best of the best, then go for it. I'll stand by your decision all the way.” Michael nodded in agreement.

“Vagabond?”

“Go for it. I'm just here for the first job.” The Vagabond reminded them which made Geoff’s smile falter a bit.

Geoff sighed, “Alright. Ray, you'll confront him and see where he stands while Michael is your backup. Vagabond and I will keep working on our first heist.”

The sniper nodded and turned to Michael, “Don't get me killed.”

“No promises.” Michael replied as Ray smirked and the two walked off to look for the bird hybrid at their last known location. “I wonder if he could fly with those things.”

“Probably.” Ray said with a smirk.

°~∆∆∆~°

_A second-in-command._

“Michael!” Gavin yelled excitedly and jumped onto the couch, startling Michael and flapping his wings to balance himself.

“Gavin, what the fuck?” Michael responded and frowned, dodging the wings. “What the hell do you want?”

Gavin pouted, “Why don't you smile?” He asked curiously. Gavin had noticed early on that Michael doesn't smile at all. He had made it his mission to understand why and to get the lad to smile even if it was just a little bit. Everyone should be happy and Gavin always frowned because Michael looked miserable.

Michael stared at the bird hybrid in disbelief, “None of your fucking business.” Michael snapped and stood up, stomping towards his room and bumping into Ray who watched him walk away.

The sniper turned to Gavin, “You asked him, didn't you?” Gavin looked at him sheepishly as Ray sighed, “I told you not to.”

“Why won't he smile?” Gavin desperately wanted to know. There was no way another Special was going to be depressed because they were purely a Special. Michael was a Special right? He hadn't seen anything that could've been linking him to being a Special. Maybe Michael and Ray were just messing with the rest of them.

“Just leave him alone, Gavin.” Ray warned and tossed another Diet Coke to the Vagabond as he finished the can and caught the oncoming can. “Jeez, you drink those like your life depended on them.”

“Who says it doesn't?” The Vagabond said with a smirk and opened the Coke.

“So what changed this?” Ray asked, gesturing to his own face and referring to the Vagabond’s since he didn't have his signature mask on, but he did have face paint on.

The Vagabond shrugged, “I trust you guys.”

Ray shook his head, “You're getting too comfortable around us, Vagabond. Next thing you know, you'll be telling us your name.”

“Yeah, not happening.” The Vagabond said with a smile.

Suddenly, Geoff rushed in and stated, “I need a second-in-command and I got the perfect person in mind! Jack Pattillo!”

Gavin nearly cringed, “You can't drag her back into this, Geoff. She officially stopped this business last year for a reason.”

Sighing, Geoff slouched over dramatically, “Yeah, but she'd be perfect to plan heists with she's so organized and literally thinks of everything. She _needs_ to be my right hand woman!”

“She's off the grid, you won't be able to find her. She has to find you.” Ray informed and looked out the window to daydream briefly.

“That shouldn't be too hard.” Geoff said and started pacing. “For this first heist, we’re going to need someone technical. Someone who could get into the cameras and overlook the area before we even arrive. If we get one now, they could probably track down Jack and then--” The Vagabond abruptly tackled Geoff onto the ground as the window shattered and a bullet dug deep into the wall.

Gavin squawked loudly and jumped to the other side of the couch, tucking his wings as close to himself as possible and grabbed his handgun. Ray cursed and ducked behind the small island in the kitchen, opening the cabinets underneath and grabbing one of his stashed sniper rifles. He cocked it and mounted the sniper on top of the island, quickly scanning the area for any signs of a threat. Widening his eyes, Ray hastily sidestepped and aimed his rifle firing as a body toppled to the ground.

Letting go of a breath, Ray scanned the area one last time, “Clear.” He confirmed and looked at the others. “Everyone okay?” Gavin nodded and so did the Vagabond.

Geoff sighed in relief, “We need to seriously get some technical support.”

“You find whoever and I'll get them for you.” Gavin said.

“What we need to do first is find a new place to stay.” The Vagabond suggested as everyone else agreed.

Gavin turned to Ray, “You've been nicked, lad.” Gavin pointed at his right cheek as Ray moved his hand over it and liquid ran down his hand. “Glass must have blew by.”

“Shit.” Ray remembered suddenly and ran into the hallway shouting, “Michael!” Worried, Geoff followed and watched Ray bang on the door yelling ’Michael’ repeatedly.

Just as Ray was about to blast open the handle, the door finally opened and Michael popped his head out. “I heard gunshots. I'm okay.” Michael assured as Ray opened the door more and pulled Michael into a tight hug.

“Don't ever scare me like that. I promised her I would take care of you.” Ray murmured.

“Ray--”

“Shut up.” Ray said and sighed, “Don't make me baby you that'd be bad for both of us.” Michael finally hugged the other back, “Hey, don't smile. I know you were thinking it.” Ray reminded him and pulled away, turning to Geoff. “You're in luck, Ramsey, because I just remembered the last place I saw Jack at.”


	2. Minor Injury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin gets a phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I wanted to and I feel like you guys deserve it, I'm posting the next chapter a week early! Enjoy! ^~^

“For the last time, Gavin, I can't and I won't smile so just leave me the fuck alone.” Michael replied and stomped away from Gavin for the sixteenth time that week.

Gavin frowned and watched him leave as the Vagabond walked into the room, “I'm surprised he hasn't thrown something at you yet.” He commented.

“Really? I'm more surprised that Ray hasn't beat your head in.” Jack said with a smile and kept her eyes on the map on the kitchen island as Geoff walked over with two hot cups of coffee and handed one to Jack who murmured her thanks and took a small sip.

Gavin groaned, “There's no way someone hasn't smiled at all their whole life. It's just not physically possible! When he was a baby, I bet he smiled once. Even if it was just once!” Gavin exclaimed and jumped up, flapping his wings to keep him upright.

“You're right, he did smile just once.”

The bird hybrid whipped his head around and saw Ray leaning on the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. “Ray, you bloody bastard! Now you decide to tell us?”

The sniper narrowed his eyes at Gavin and clenched his jaw as Geoff gulped down his coffee immediately and set the cup down, “Gavin, let Ray finish.” Gavin apologized and took a few steps back as Ray sighed.

Ray uncrossed his arms and walked closer to them, “Michael smiled once and he’ll only let me tell you that he regretted it immediately. It wasn't a very good day for him. The rest, he’ll tell you when he's ready. The more you ask him about it, the more he's willing to leave the crew because he absolutely _hates_ being reminded of that day. So leave him the fuck alone because he needs his space.” The sniper walked across the room and headed for Michael’s bedroom door.

After a while, the Vagabond decided to break the silence, “Do you think those two are y’know… Intimate?” Gavin nearly choked on his own saliva, Geoff tried to hold in a laugh, and Jack just sighed.

“Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised.” Geoff commented and looked down at the map of Los Santos. “Holy shit, Jack, I just realized.” Jack stepped away from the island and watched closely as Geoff turned the map and pointed at the Maze Bank building. “He frequents that area, correct?” Jack nodded. “He also runs on a clock. If the Corpirate visits everyday, we should hit that place last. The ultimate heist to finish him off. If we take all of his money and watch him crumble, then we go in and snatch him, get information out of him then kill him. Okay, let's run through everything again.”

Jack nodded and pointed at the docks, “The hardest part is setting up for all of that and still staying under the radar. As far as I know, the shipment comes in and it's driven to Chiliad where we can't track it down without following them ourselves. There's a warehouse somewhere over there where they store the goods. First, we set up to raid that warehouse. Then, we stock up and monitor the Corpirate. Once that's done, we hit his higher ups one by one. Next, we demolish his most frequented areas leaving absolutely nothing for him. Lastly, we hit the maze bank and take every last drop.”

“Sounds complicated.” The Vagabond said boredly. “Too easy.”

Geoff smirked, “Oh, you have no idea what we’re planning. You haven't even seen your positions and duties.”

A phone rang loudly and Gavin nearly jumped, his wings flapping in surprise and almost smacking the Vagabond in the face. Luckily, he dodged it easily. Gavin reached into his pocket and took out his phone, answering it immediately when he saw who called him. “Fügz! You actually called me for once!”

_“Y--yeah and I regret it… immediately.”_

Gavin could practically hear Fügz rolling their eyes on the other side of the phone call. Except they didn't. “Aw, don't be like that! Anyway, what can I do for you today?” Gavin asked with a beaming smile.

_“I--I need help...”_

“Hah! Yeah right, you never ask for my help. What can I really do for you?” Gavin winked at Geoff who just shook his head and went back to planning with Jack.

_“No, seriously… Gav please…”_

The bird hybrid frowned and he instantly became aware of the heavy breathing and how hard it was for Fügz to talk properly. Oh shit, Fügz was dying. Gavin squeaked and covered his mouth as the Vagabond watched him carefully. “F--Fügz…? Wh--where are you? Please, tell me where you are.” Gavin sounding frantic and needy drew Jack and Geoff’s attention towards him again. “Please Fügz.” He begged softly as Geoff grabbed his keys and tugged Gavin away to go to the garage.

“Where are they, Gavin?” Geoff asked.

_“I just need you to send a m--message… To Lindsay. Apologize to her for me… Please…”_

Gavin shook his head, “No! You are apologizing to her yourself! Please stay awake.” Geoff unlocked the car and got in as Gavin quickly jumped in the back so he had more space for his wings which were up high in anticipation and worry for his friend. “Just tell me where you are please!”

There was silence for a while that Gavin almost thought that Fügz had died then and there, but luckily they spoke. _“The first place we met… They ambushed me, Gavin… I'm sorry.”_

“Don't apologize. Please don't apologize.” Gavin pleaded softly and looked at Geoff who was watching him worriedly waiting for Gavin to give him a location. The bird hybrid gulped before saying, “The pier.” Immediately, Geoff drove off and went over the speed limit in nearly five seconds, speeding by cars left and right and narrowly missing cars. They could crash at any moment, but neither of them cared. “Please keep talking. Tell me what you did today. Talk to me about your family. Tell me all about how you are the smartest person in the world. Please… Just talk.”

_“I always thought I'd go out with a bang, y’know?”_

Gavin shook his head and covered his mouth to keep from sobbing.

_“With people surrounding me… Overwhelming me…”_

“Kdin…” Gavin choked out.

“...as I save the day…”

“You're not going to die.” Gavin promised as Geoff slammed on the brakes as they neared the pier nearly hitting a few people. “I won't let you.” Gavin opened the door and jumped out, his wings shooting out as he quickly flew down to the sandy beach under the pier. “Kdin!” The bird hybrid shouted and spotted Kdin laying on the sand seemingly in peace.

Kdin cracked her eyes open slightly when she heard his voice and smiled a bit. “He actually made it.” Kdin murmured as Gavin slid onto his knees next to Kdin and examined her carefully. “Hey Gav…” She said weakly.

Gavin quickly put pressure on the wound on her abdomen and looked up at the pier yelling, “Geoff, she needs medical attention!” Kdin couldn't even feel his hands on her and she coughed out blood.

“You can't get me to a hospital, Gav.” Kdin reasoned.

“I don't care! You're going to survive!”

“Gavin please…” Kdin reached over and grasped his arm weakly, watching him with pleading eyes. “I really enjoyed being your friend.” Kdin said, her eyelids becoming heavier and her grip loosening.

“You're not going to die.” Gavin replied loudly and tried to keep from crying as his wings spread out, wrapping around them and keeping them safe. Most importantly, keeping Kdin safe. “You can't.” Kdin’s eyes slid closed as Gavin lightly shook her. “Kdin, please stay awake. Please, Geoff is getting someone to help you. Please…”

“Gavin, move your wings!” Geoff yelled and forcefully pushed them aside as Gavin moved them more when he realized that Geoff was there with someone else. “He said he can help.” Geoff gestured to the man next to him.

“Do whatever you can to save her.” Gavin said as the man nodded and crouched down on the other side of Kdin. Gavin moved his hands away from Kdin’s still bleeding abdomen when the man told him to and encased the three of them in his wings when Geoff stepped away to make sure the people who hurt Kdin didn't come back. Luckily, the pier was above them because his wings couldn't cover the top of them. Before he knew it, Kdin had stitches on various places on her body and she was stabilized as far as he could tell. He looked at the man across from him who stood up, “Why did you save her?”

The man shrugged, “This may be Los Santos, but not everyone are heartless assholes. Anyway, to make sure she actually lives, I need to come with you.”

Gavin was about to agree, but Geoff cut in. “Oh no, you could tell us all we need to know and then we’ll let you live.”

“Geoff, he just saved Kdin’s life!”

“And if I don't come with, then she has more of a possibility to die.” The man argued calmly. “But it's your decision.”

Geoff pursed his lips and looked at Gavin who practically pleaded with him. He sighed, “Fine, but if you even try something, you're dead.”

“Wasn't planning on it. I'm Caleb.” Caleb offered a hand as Geoff hesitated before shaking it.

“Geoff.” He shook the other’s hand warily.

“Gavin.” He said quietly and looked down at Kdin who appeared to be sleeping peacefully. The bird hybrid looked up at Caleb with tears threatening to fall, “Thank you.” Caleb said nothing, only watched them quietly and frowned as Geoff eyed him suspiciously and cleared his throat.

“Let's get the fuck out of here before the cops get here.” Gavin nodded in agreement and stood up as Geoff carefully picked up Kdin and started for the car which Geoff drove down to the beach at some point. Gavin opened the door and helped get Kdin inside then went in himself as Caleb silently followed and got in the passenger seat. Geoff moved to the other side of the car and got in the driver’s seat, starting the car and driving slowly and steadily back to the safe house. 

Once they arrived at the safehouse, Geoff switched off the engine and slouched in his chair looking at Gavin in the rear view mirror. Gavin was mumbling to Kdin who was still unconscious, “We made it, Fügz. We’re home.” Geoff smiled and got out of the car as Caleb did the same. Geoff opened the back door and carefully pulled out Kdin closing the door and heading inside as Caleb stayed behind them and Gavin eagerly followed. “I can't wait for you to meet the others. They're all nice and cool people.” He murmured as Geoff silently passed through the kitchen and quickly found an empty room, carefully setting Kdin down and stepping back. Immediately, Gavin went to her side and started talking to her quietly about the Fake AH Crew, his new motorcycle, and literally anything else he could think of.

Geoff watched them for a bit before turning to Caleb, “I hope you're aware that once you're done here we’ll have to kill you. We can't have people on the outside who know anything about what we’re planning currently.”

Caleb nodded, “I knew that before I even told you I had medical experience.”

Geoff raised his eyebrows in surprise, “So you willingly came with us even though you knew that we’d have to kill you?”

Sighing suddenly, Caleb nodded, “Yes, I did. What a dangerous world we live in, huh? You won't kill me though because whatever operation you have here is going to need someone like me. A medic. Someone who can stitch up wounds properly and work with what they've got without the fear of getting an infection. You need me.”

Geoff narrowed his eyes at Caleb. Sure, they needed someone like him badly unfortunately. But the fact that Caleb was absolutely positive that Geoff wouldn't just end him once his job was done caused Geoff to become more suspicious of the other. There was no way someone could be so confident in this line of business without having some help. “Are you threatening me?” Geoff asked.

“No.” Caleb replied easily. “I'm just always prepared for what comes next.” That one sentence made Geoff nearly cringe because wait, why did Caleb have medical supplies with him already when he offered to patch Kdin up? How did he even know? Did he carry medical supplies around because he's experienced events like these before? Or was he really just prepared for everything?

Geoff decided to leave it at that and figure out who Caleb was later. “If you need anything, I'll assign Brownman to being your babysitter for now. And if you try anything to hurt any of these people, I will end you myself.”

“I don't plan on doing anything harmful to you or anyone else.” Caleb affirmed as Geoff clenched his jaw and nodded, watching Gavin for a bit before walking out of the room.

Jack looked up from the map when Geoff walked in and straightened her back. “You brought in two fresh faces. Are they staying or are we shooting one?”

“I'm not sure yet.” Geoff said. “As far as I can tell, Gavin isn't letting Kdin out of his sight any time soon. He'd probably make a huge fuss about her getting a paper cut now.”

“And the other one? The male?” Jack asked.

Geoff pursed his lips and turned to the Vagabond, “Keep an eye on him. He could be dangerous and if possible, find any information on him. I'm going to have Ray watch him, but you'll have to watch him closer. Think you can handle that?”

“I'm offended you even had to ask that.” The Vagabond said in mock hurt and put his mask on. “Intimidation means information, right?” He asked with a smile.

“Whatever works for you, but don't hurt him.”

“Aw, that's no fun.”

“Vagabond, we might need him.” Geoff said and the Vagabond nodded. “Where's Ray and Michael?”

“Ray wanted them to get out and do something instead of sitting here on their asses.” Jack answered without looking up from the map.

“Chiliad?” Geoff asked.

“Chiliad.” Jack confirmed. Those two seemed to be attached at the hip and it made Geoff wonder how well they knew each other and for how long.

“When did they leave?”

“About ten minutes ago.” The Vagabond answered and moved towards the hall. “I'll substitute for Ray for now. You two have fun planning.” The Vagabond waved and entered the room, pulling Caleb out of the room and closing the door. “I need to make sure you're clean, so follow me.”

Caleb raised a brow, “You're the Vagabond.” It was more of a statement than a question.

The Vagabond nodded, “Scared?” Caleb shook his head. He honestly wasn't. The Vagabond hummed, “I'll make sure to fix that then.” He smiled viciously even though the mask stopped Caleb from seeing it. The Vagabond started walking away and motioned for Caleb to follow as the medic watched him before following. The assassin opened a door and smiled, “After you.” Caleb walked in as the Vagabond entered and closed the door behind them. “Sit down.” He ordered.

Caleb obeyed and looked up at the Vagabond expectantly, “I know what you're going to determine of me in the end.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“You'll realize that I'm the one who'll keep you all alive because I'm the only one who can.” Caleb said confidently.

This kid sure knew how to run his mouth so pridefully that it irked the Vagabond immensely, but he wouldn't do anything about it. Nevertheless, the Vagabond’s smile turned wicked, “We’ll see.”

“Get started then.” Caleb replied impatiently.

“Let's.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want updates about what I'm working on, follow me on Twitter! @xCabooseRTRvB


	3. The Liars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Michael plan out the rest.

Ray was sat on the edge of the ledge and at the corner of his eye carefully watched Michael who looked out at the busy city of Los Santos and appreciated the slight breeze that blew past him. Michael looked so at peace that Ray almost couldn't believe it. No matter how badly they tried, there was nothing they could do to change it. Nothing could change the fate of their lives. There was no way that they'd live to see it through to the end. They did work in a dangerous business, but they knew the consequences and still didn't care. The sniper hated how their lives came to this. He hated how in a matter of seconds their lives were ruined all because of their own abilities. He wished he could change it.

“Stop watching over me,” Michael said suddenly and kept his gaze on the bustling city as Ray fully turned in his direction and tilted his head a bit, patiently waiting for the other to continue. “I'm older than you.” Michael simply stated as Ray just sighed and shook his head. Finally, Michael turned to look at Ray, “I'm supposed to be taking care of you not the other way around.”

The sniper studied Michael who seemed to be having a mental debate, “Your age doesn't justify your actions. It shouldn't!” Ray sighed, “I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”

Michael frowned, “But Ray, you didn't know her.”

“That's where you're wrong, Michael.” The sniper looked away and swung his feet a bit, clenching his hands in the dirt. “I _knew_ her. She was my mom just as much as she was yours. She took care of us. _Both_ of us. She _loved_ us.” Ray looked at Michael then, “She made sure we could take care of each other.”

“That's the fucking problem!” Michael nearly yelled in which Ray flinched slightly. The older stood abruptly and glared down at Ray, “You take care of me all of the time and keep tabs on me. But what do I do for you? I just give you a hard time all the fucking time! How could you be okay with that?”

“Michael--”

Michael shook his head and turned away, “You're crumbling, Ray. Eventually, they will figure out what happened, who we are, and why we’re here. There's no way you can finish it in time.”

Ray stood and forced Michael to look at him, staring at him angrily. “Don't you fucking crack under the pressure of it all! Listen to me, I _will_ get it done in time and soon it'll all be over because we’re both going to survive. We’re going to beat this and we’ll find a way around it. We’ll beat this, Michael! I just need you to keep going for a little while longer.”

“It's not that simple!”

“It never is!” Ray sighed and grabbed Michael’s shoulders, “Look…” The sniper looked down briefly before making eye contact with the other. “You have to trust me, Michael. Please, just trust me. I got everything covered. We’ll come out of this alive. I'll make sure of it.”

Michael shook his head, “It's just not that easy, Ray.” Michael said softly. “There's no way that we’ll be able to hide it long enough for us to go unnoticed. The moment Geoff finds someone who can dig up our files is our last moment to ever live. They'll kill us for what we've done. For what we’ll do.”

“They won't find out as long as we do what we're supposed to.” Ray reasoned and pursed his lips. “If I heard correctly while Gavin was on the phone, he said ‘Fügz’. I did a little digging on this Fügz person beforehand. Apparently, they're one of Gavin’s best assets and the most skilled hackers and data analysts in all of the United States. Maybe even the whole world.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Michael asked in confusion.

Ray let go of Michael’s shoulders and shrugged, “I don't know. Gavin seems to take a liking to you.”

“Oh hell no, you are not doing this again to me,” Michael replied.

Ray grinned, “Oh come on Michael! You don't have to reciprocate, I just need you to distract him while I drug Fügz so much that they won't wake up for several days maybe even a week.”

“Isn't that overdosing them?” Michael asked with a raised brow.

Ray shrugged, “That would be unfortunate for them. Fortunately for us, if that happens, we won't have to worry about a data analyst on our ass twenty-four seven. Look, it's a good plan. It'll work.” Ray said confidently and smiled.

Michael sighed, “Fine. Just work quickly. Wait, how do we even know they brought Fügz back to the safe house?”

“Gavin is too nice just to leave one of his friends at a random place to recover by themselves. Fügz’ll be there.” Ray answered knowingly.

“And if they're not?” Michael questioned.

“Then I'll find them and put a bullet in their brain,” Ray answered simply. “We got this, Michael.” The sniper assured with a smile as Michael sighed and nodded.

“Okay… Okay, I trust you.”

°~∆∆∆~°

Easier said than done.

Ray always hated that phrase and he still hated it. Actually, he despised it even more than before because it meant that he had the inability to control the current situation. Why the fuck do they suddenly have a medic taking care of the unconscious Kdin? Where the fuck did he even come from? This medic was ruining their plan and the sniper hated how he didn't plan for it. He hated how easy it was for an unplanned factor to throw off their whole system.

The sniper quietly grumbled to himself and glared at Caleb who was currently checking on Kdin’s vitals. Somehow every single fucking time he tried to sneak in the room to give Kdin drugs, Caleb fucking _always_ was there almost like he knew that Ray would do something. Ray bore holes into the back of Caleb’s head and huffed in frustration as Caleb sighed and turned to look at the sniper.

“Do you have a problem with me?” Caleb questioned straightaway and frowned at Ray who looked away and mumbled curse words under his breath.

“Oh? What would make you think that?” Ray asked sarcastically and slouched in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “It's not like I'm frustrated to all hell that you're here.”

“I got that part,” Caleb said dully and rolled his eyes, returning his focus on Kdin. Ray groaned loudly and looked up at the ceiling as Caleb clenched his jaw and tried his best to ignore the sniper who kept trying to annoy him for some reason. Soon enough, Caleb had had enough and stood, turning to glare at Ray, “What the fuck do you want from me?”

Standing, Ray glared right back at him, “I want you to leave. I don't trust you. I don't know why Geoff even bothered to let you come here.”

Caleb huffed, “It's because one of your friends here is dying and I intend to keep her alive even though you don't trust me.”

“How do I know you're not planning to kill her when we’re all out of this room?” Ray questioned. Funny, because he was going to do that himself when Caleb leaves the room.

“If I had wanted to kill her, I would have done so already.” Caleb deadpanned and turned to sit back on the chair next to Kdin’s bed. “But do whatever you want. I don't care if you think I'm out for blood. Just leave me alone when I'm operating on her unless you want her killed.”

“Whatever, I can't sit here right now.” Ray opened the door.

“Aren't you supposed to be watching me and making sure I _don't_ kill her?” Caleb asked indignantly.

Ray shrugged, “I will be watching and if you do kill her, I'll come and find you myself. And trust me, you don't want this Crew up your ass. We’re all born killers as far as I can tell. Plus, Gavin has connections and he's talking to one right now on the other side of town. I'm sure you don't want more than one gang on your ass.” Ray left and closed the door, quickly finding and pulling away Michael who made a noise of surprise. “I need to talk to you,” Ray explained simply.

Immediately, Michael understood and followed Ray outside so they could talk in private. “What's up?” Michael asked curiously.

“I'm having a bit of a difficult time with our new addition,” Ray said slowly and rubbed his face in frustration.

“Are you talking about Kdin?”

Ray shook his head, “No! Well yes, but no. It's Caleb. He's always inside the room before I could do anything and he's just so infuriating. If Kdin wakes up before we’re ready, we’re screwed.”

“Alright, so what do we do now?” Michael asked and watched Ray start pacing.

Ray sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “The only thing I can think of is set him up and ruin his chances of gaining Geoff’s trust.”

“Will it work?”

Stopping his pacing, Ray looked at Michael and shook his head, “I don't know, but right now Caleb is our biggest obstacle. We need to take him out as soon as possible. Any ideas?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Michael answered as Ray looked at him in mild surprise. “Shut up.” Ray chuckled as Michael continued, “I'll tell Geoff about a possible place we could hit and he’ll most likely tell the Vagabond to go with me. We’ll scout then I'll get into some ‘trouble’. The Vagabond will ask for backup and Geoff, Jack, and Gavin will go help while you stay behind and work your magic.”

Ray frowned, “What are you going to do that'll force the Vagabond to call for backup?”

“I'll handle it.” Michael said, “Just worry about what you're doing.”

“Be careful.”

“Always,” Michael said and jogged into the building to inform Geoff about the possible sighting of another one of the Corpirate’s special warehouses.

Ray watched him leave and sighed, “We can do this.”

°~∆∆∆~°

Watching Geoff, Jack, and Gavin speed off to help Michael and the Vagabond, Ray waved at the shrinking car and stayed behind because Geoff ordered him to watch Caleb closely. Sighing, Ray placed his arm at his side and turned around to face the building. Their current safe house. Oh no, how was he going to do this without losing important documents? The sniper stared at the building in thought and sighed again. It's a simple plan, set the building on fire and wait a bit before trying to save Caleb and Kdin. Get them killed and then lie to Geoff about how he tried to save them, but it was too late. The fire started in that room.

Moving to the side of the safe house where he knew Caleb and Kdin were in, Ray lit a match and looked in the window, watching the entrance of the room they were in and threw the match next to the door. He watched the flame grow exponentially and spread through the safe house like wildfire in the matter of a few seconds as he ducked back down and snuck back to the front of the house. He took out his DS and immediately started a game so he could distract himself for a bit while focusing on the flames closely so he wouldn't scorch himself accidentally.

When he heard the crackle of fire near him, Ray turned around curiously and closed his DS, pocketing it. He took a deep breath. One chance that's all he's got. He ran into the building and covered his head, “Caleb! Kdin!” He yelled and approached the burning room. “Are you guys in here?” He peeked into the room and his eyes widened. The room was empty. There was no Caleb or Kdin in sight. Oh shit, he was so screwed. He bolted out of the thick of the fire and looked around the safe house. No no no, this was good this was good. That means they didn't survive right? But they weren't in the room. It means they survived. Ray shook his head and frantically looked around once more. They weren't in the safe house.

Ray quickly escaped through the back exit and froze when he saw Caleb running for the safe house. “Caleb! You scared the crap out of me, man! Where's Kdin?”

“Brownman, the documents! Everything they've been working on will burn!” Caleb shouted at him and pointed at the building.

Shit.

No matter what, they needed that information just as much as Geoff and Jack needed it. Why didn't he get the documents beforehand? _Ray, you're such an idiot!_

Frantically, Ray journeyed back into the fire and hurriedly took all of the documents that seemed important. The map. The game plan. Anything that Ray knew he and Michael needed and probably Geoff and Jack didn't need he took it. Small piles of ash flew up when he ran past and followed him for a bit before gliding back down and landing on the floor. He went too far again. He was getting tired and he was inhaling so much smoke. Why was the smoke affecting him? He coughed and wheezed, covering his mouth with his other hand so he wouldn't breathe in so much smoke. This wasn't right. Something was wrong.

Before he knew it, he was on the ground and coughing uncontrollably as he clutched tightly to the papers. What was he doing? This wasn't right. He wasn't supposed to be dying. He wasn't the one supposed to be suffering and burning alive in the fire. He distantly heard his name being called, but he couldn't focus on where it was coming from or if it was just his imagination. Oh god, he had to get out of here before his own flames consume him completely.

Fortunately, he didn't give up so easily and started crawling, searching for a place that could stand the brute force of his fire. Ray looked up and saw the safe. The safe that was supposed to protect the papers that Ray was currently holding. Except since Geoff and Jack left quickly, they didn't bother to put it all away. Quickly, Ray crawled over and cracked it open since he knew Geoff’s code, throwing the documents inside and slamming the door closed so the fire wouldn't get in. Even if it did, he made sure to extinguish it immediately.

Then he just collapsed.

He gave up because he knew he went too far and that he was most likely going to die by his own fire or the Fake AH Crew was going to kill him because _they'll know_. They'll know he did it. That Michael did it. They'll both die and it was all his fault. All because he didn't think about the possible factor that Caleb saw the flames too early.

“I'm so sorry, Michael.” He choked out and tried not to cry as he lost all feeling his body and will to live. He wasn't getting out alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please follow me on Twitter to have updates on the stories I'm working on! @xCabooseRTRvB
> 
> Oooh, what's gonna happen next?


	4. The Bull's Entrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff's old friend makes an appearance.

Geoff hopped into the driver’s seat of the car and impatiently waited for Gavin and Jack to enter the vehicle before speeding off. He smiled when he glanced at the rear view mirror to see Ray waving at them. “We’ll save Michael for you, bud.” He murmured as Jack nodded in agreement.

“Aw, bloody hell!” Gavin yelled and looked around the car, patting down his person. “Where is it?” He asked.

Geoff glanced at Gavin and frowned, “What's up, Gavin?”

“My gun! I can't find it!” Gavin exclaimed and searched for it frantically. He looked under the seats and under him, checking the seats and his pockets before turning to the front to see Jack dangling a gun practically in his face. “Jack, you bloody bastard!” He reached for the gun, but Jack moved it away and sighed.

“You're staying back, Gavin. If they see you, they'll remember you.” Jack reasoned reluctantly. “I'd rather not have you get shot at.”

Pouting, Gavin nodded, “Fine, but is there any way I can help? You let Ray stay but didn't tell me to which means I'm of use to you.” Gavin said with a wide smile.

“Unfortunately yes, we do need your help,” Geoff said and narrowly missed an oncoming car as Gavin squawked in excitement. “You can fly with those things, right?” Gavin nodded. “We’ll need you to quickly scout the area. You have good eyes?”

“The best!” Gavin yelled as Geoff smiled.

“Good. Now let's save Michael!” Geoff pushed on the gas as the car sped up to its max speed. Geoff slowed down to a stop behind a dune that was high enough to hide his car and switched off the engine, pulling out three earpieces and handing one to Gavin then to Jack. He put his earpiece on as the other two did the same. “Gavin, up high. Jack, you're with me.” The two nodded and they all got out of the car as Gavin immediately took off and Jack checked her weapons, making sure they're in working condition. “Vagabond, can you hear me?”

_“Yeah.”_

The Vagabond sounded grim and Geoff frowned. Were they too late already? Geoff shook his head, “Where are you?”

 _“Pinned down at the entrance.”_ There was a pause. _“Ramsey… they have Mogar.”_

“It's okay, Vagabond. We’ll get him. What happened? You didn't properly explain earlier.” Geoff asked calmly and motioned for Jack to follow as they started running for the building which seemed to be getting farther and farther away from them.

_“Oh, I'll tell you what happened.”_

That was not the Vagabond’s voice. Geoff glanced at Jack who frowned and looked back with worry etched onto her face. “Who is this?” Geoff asked and kept his voice steady even though he already knew who it was.

_“Oh Ramsey, you know fully well who I am. There's no need to ask, but since you asked so nicely I'll answer for your incompetent fools. I am Adam Taurus, leader of the White Fang the best gang to ever walk the streets of Los Santos. Aren't you glad to see me, Ramsey?”_

Geoff could practically hear the vicious smile on his face and he cursed under his breath. He shouldn't have let the Vagabond and Michael go. “What do you want, Taurus?”

_“For you to stop and wake the fuck up. You're not taking this city. Not until my last breath.”_

“I'll make sure to be the one to kill you, you fucker!” Geoff yelled.

_“Tsk tsk, you should learn not to yell at your superiors, Ramsey. Remember, I have someone very important to you.”_

_“Ramsey, go!”_ It was Michael. _“You need to leave now. Don't worry about me! Just--AGH!”_

“Let him go!” Geoff ordered as they jumped into the cover that the Vagabond was behind. He shut off his mic and turned to the Vagabond, “Where?” The Vagabond pointed at the warehouse.

“He's in there with Taurus and a few guards.” The Vagabond answered as an array of bullets flew over their heads.

_“Hmm, sounds like you want him bad. Sure, I'll let him go, but I want something in return.”_

Geoff groaned and looked at the Vagabond and Jack who nodded. Sighing, Geoff switched on his mic, “What do you want?”

 _“The fall of the Corpirate.”_ Taurus answered simply but explained further. _“All you need to do is agree to a temporary alliance with us and we’ll take down the Corpirate together. Then I'll let you all walk freely. Do we have a deal?”_

“You'll need to give me a bit to converse with--” A yelp from the other line caused Geoff to stop and keep silent as Taurus spoke.

 _“This is your decision and yours alone, Ramsey. No conversing with your team.”_ Taurus replied lowly.

 _Shit_ , Geoff thought and sighed. There was no way that they could save Michael since they were pinned down. Gavin couldn't take care of everyone by himself even if they gave him covering fire. Hell, Gavin didn't even have a gun on him. If Geoff declined, then Taurus would kill Michael. If Geoff accepted, there's a high chance Taurus would betray them. But then again, Taurus can't handle the Corpirate himself. Geoff looked apologetically at the Vagabond and Jack. The Vagabond only nodded and Jack just always looked supportive of his decisions. Geoff sighed, “Fine.”

_“What was that?”_

“We’ll help you take down the Corpirate.” Geoff accepted and clenched his jaw. He hoped he wasn't going to regret this later on.

 _“Good, now call off your wingman and I'll give you back your soldier.”_ Suddenly, the gunfire from the White Fang seized as Jack and the Vagabond exchanged unsure looks.

“Free, fall back.” After a while, Gavin was in Geoff’s peripherals and was gliding down until he touched the ground. Gavin walked over to the three and nodded. “He's right next to me now. Release Mogar.”

_“I'll send a message to you by the end of the week to talk about our newfound relationship, Ramsey. See you then.”_

Almost immediately after, Taurus’s men retreated and the front door opened as Michael stumbled out and fell to the ground. “Michael!” Jack yelled and ran out to help him, keeping an eye out for any danger.

“Jack!” Geoff called out to her, but she didn't listen. “Damnit… Vagabond, cover fire. Gavin, scout and be his extra set of eyes.” He said simply and jumped over their cover, following after Jack who crouched in front of Michael and examined him for injuries. Quickly catching up, Geoff crouched next to them and looked around for any of the White Fang. When he found no one, Geoff turned to Jack, “Is he good?”

“We need Caleb and we have no supplies here. From what I can see, he has bruised ribs and internal bleeding.” She answered as Michael breathed heavily and turned to them.

“I'll be fine.” Michael breathed.

Jack shook her head, “No, you won't. I'm surprised you're even breathing properly.”

“I'll call Ray,” Geoff said and took out his phone, dialing the number and frowning when it went straight to voicemail. He tried again, but he got the same result. He looked at Jack and shook his head, “He's not answering.”

Jack frowned as Michael’s eyes widened, “Shit.” Jack turned on her mic, “Change of plans. Vagabond and Gavin go back to the safe house, Ray’s not responding.”

 _“You got it. Gavin, we’ll use my car.”_ The Vagabond answered.

“Make sure he's okay!” Michael yelled so that they could hear him, but he coughed out blood soon after.

Geoff helped Michael up and pulled his arm over his shoulders, “Jack, cover us.” She nodded and took the gun from him, slinging it over her shoulder and cocked her gun. He started half dragging half carrying Michael over to his car as Jack stayed close to them.

“They've honestly retreated, Geoff,” Michael said and kept his hand on his chest, trying to slow his quick breathing. “He wants the Corpirate down just as much as the Vagabond does. Just as much as we do. Taurus won't risk killing us until afterward.”

“I don't care,” Geoff answered. “He hurt my men. I bet he distracted us to come here, so he could attack the safe house. Now we don't even know if Ray, Caleb, or Kdin are even alive anymore.”

“Geoff…” Michael said. “Don't worry about Taurus, if he's going to betray us, he would've killed me right off the bat.”

Geoff shook his head, “We’re talking about Taurus here. He's planning something.”

“He has a sniper on us now, doesn't he?” Jack asked.

Michael lifted his head to blankly stare at Jack who sighed, “He’ll only shoot if you don't comply. We don't trust him and he doesn't trust us.”

Geoff unlocked the car and opened the back door, “Jack, sit there with Michael. Make sure he's still awake by the time we get to the safe house.” Jack nodded and went to the other side of the car as Geoff carefully helped Michael inside so he'd be lying down on his back.

“Geoff, listen to me.” Michael attempted.

“Shut up and just live okay?!” Geoff shouted which silenced Michael immediately and closed the door, moving to the driver’s side. He got in and turned the engine over, speeding off for the safe house.

_“Geoff… Jack…”_

“Vagabond? What's wrong with Ray? Please give me some good news.” Geoff asked. He didn't like how solemn the Vagabond sounded.

Gavin spoke next, _“I--it's on fire. Everything’s just… Burning…”_

“Holy shit…” Jack breathed out and covered her mouth.

“Are they okay?” Geoff asked as Michael looked up at Jack who shook her head. She didn't want to tell Michael. She couldn't.

 _“Caleb and Kdin are fine.”_ Gavin answered almost thankfully.

“What about Ray?” Geoff asked which earned Michael’s attention.

 _“He's in the fire. Caleb said he saw nothing, but Ray did go back inside to do something.”_ The Vagabond answered reluctantly with a strained voice.

Geoff nearly swerved into a car at the news as Jack gasped and looked down at Michael who already knew the answer to Geoff’s earlier question. “What caused his death?” Michael asked.

“Michael--” Geoff started.

“Tell me!”

“There’s a fire,” Geoff answered.

“He's fine,” Michael answered immediately. He sounded so confident. Why?

“Michael, he was trapped in the building. Caleb didn't see him walk out.”

“I told you he's fine!” Michael said and tried to stop himself from coughing out more blood. Unfortunately, it didn't work and his shirt was spotted with blood.

“Michael, keep still. You're going to hurt yourself more!” Jack said concerned as the younger sat up properly and glared at Geoff.

Michael clenched his hands, “He's perfectly fine! You'll see!”

“Michael, you don't know that,” Geoff argued.

“I do!”

“How?” Geoff asked as Gavin shouted in shock.

_“He's alive!”_

Jack’s eyes widened and she slowly looked at Michael, “How did you…?” She stopped herself from continuing.

“He's alive, isn't he?” Michael asked before another coughing fit began and Jack went to help him, but he raised his hand for her to stop. He wiped his mouth, “Ray is fine.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” Geoff said and quickly drove onto the road leading straight to the safe house. After a while, the safe house was in view and Geoff slowed to a stop. All three of them stared at the remains of their safe house. The roof was gone, the windows were blown out, the front door burned, the whole building charred, but the weirdest thing that they quite frankly didn't see was fire. There was no sign of an active fire anywhere on the premises and there was no smoke flying into the sky. The whole building told a story about a fire, but where was the fire?

“What the fuck…?” Jack breathed out.

Michael watched the other two and rolled his eyes, “Ray’s alive.” He opened the door and attempted to get out on his own, but fell to the ground at the lack of breath and dizziness, black spots clouding his vision. Quickly, Jack got out of the car and helped him up, practically heaving him onto her shoulder.

She turned on her mic, “Vagabond, we’re here out front. Where are you?”

 _“Back.”_ The Vagabond answered almost immediately as Geoff exited the car and looked at the building.

“Where the fuck…?” Geoff examined the building in a mix of interest and confusion. There was no way the fire just disappeared in that small amount of time.

“Geoff, some help please?” Jack called as Geoff turned and nodded. He jogged over and helped carry Michael to the other side of the building. They continued to trudge in silence until they saw the others on the other side of the building. “Caleb!” She shouted as he looked over and hurriedly ran over.

Caleb started overlooking him, “Your analysis, Jack?”

Jack frowned, “Why do you need--”

“Just answer the question.”

“Internal bleeding,” Jack said as Caleb nodded. “Also some bruised ribs.”

Caleb nodded again, “From the looks of it, that's a pretty accurate examination, but you're close. I got him.” Caleb said and took Michael from them, leading him to the second building which was half the safe house’s size and had some supplies he needed as Jack followed him.

Geoff watched them leave before hurrying over to the Vagabond and Gavin who were both looking at the building and practically scratching their heads. “I'm not the only one going crazy right? That building isn't on fire.”

The Vagabond nodded, “Yup, that's uh--that's a building with uh… Scorch marks. It _was_ on fire. Not exactly sure _how_ the fire just immediately evaporated, but uh it's good it didn't burn the entire building down. Right?”

“That's bloody awesome!” Gavin squawked excitedly. “What a cool ability!”

Both of them stared at Gavin with questioning looks.

“What? Isn't it obvious?” Gavin asked as they continued to stare. “Ray can control fire, ya donut! He just sucked it all in in one single breath! It was bloody cool!”

“Okay, calm down fellow arsonist.” The Vagabond joked and pointed at the safe in the middle of the burned building that they could clearly see since there was a gigantic hole in the wall. “That there is what Ray was protecting.”

Geoff eyed it, “What's in it?”

“Beats me.” The Vagabond shrugged and turned to the second building. “Though it does make sense why Ray didn't burn to death. Yeah, he's a Special, but what's his _specific_ ability.”

“I'm telling you, he can control fire!” Gavin squawked.

The Vagabond rolled his eyes and copied the Brit’s tone, “I'm telling you, Ray’s going to become a target if someone outside of the Crew realizes that.”

“Why?” Gavin asked curiously and tilted his head a bit.

“Anyone who can control fire is hunted down until they're dead,” Geoff answered simply. “We’ll make sure that doesn't happen, though.” The Vagabond nodded in agreement. “Let's go check on them,” Geoff said and walked towards the second building as the other two followed. He knocked and waited for confirmation before opening the door. Michael was sitting on a wooden crate and looked up at them as they entered. A hint of a smile crossed his face, but it seemed to disappear just as quickly. Kdin was still unconscious and lying on a crate that was conveniently longer than her height as a blanket was strewn over her and a pillow was tucked securely under her head. Ray was also unconscious but was sitting on the floor against the crate Kdin was lying down on with his glasses on his lap half melted already. The Vagabond was right, Ray didn't burn at all. His body was completely unharmed. Physically anyway.

Caleb was currently running around the shed trying to ensure everyone lived and stopped in front of Michael with cloth. “Shirt off. Now.” Michael obliged albeit reluctantly and looked down at his bruised body. “Just be glad you don't have bullet wounds in you.”

Jack was watching from little ways away with her arms crossed over her chest as Geoff walked up next to her, “So, what's up?” Geoff asked.

“To summarize, everyone will be just fine,” Jack answered and uncrossed her arms, turning to Geoff and lowering her voice. “The only problems is that Michael has to heal properly and we have to find out what happened here. Caleb claims he knows nothing about what happened. He saw the fire and ran with Kdin.”

Geoff frowned and whispered, “You think he did it?” Jack gave him a knowing look and Geoff sighed and nodded. “Okay, we’ll deal with it later. Let's just make sure everyone actually lives.” Geoff watched Caleb distract and patch up Michael who winced every now and then. “C’mon, I have to show you something.” He said and started walking out. “Watch him carefully.” He murmured to the Vagabond as he passed him and Jack followed close behind. Stopping at the back entrance of the safe house, Geoff pointed at the safe the Vagabond pointed at earlier. “Vagabond said Ray was protecting it. I didn't want to find out what was in it without you.”

Jack nodded, “Then let's find out.” She stepped through the rubble and ash of the building until the safe was within reach. She turned to Geoff, “Do the honors.” Geoff nodded and punched in his code, opening it and taking out some of its contents. Jack took one of the pieces of papers, “Son of a bitch.” She uttered with a smile and chuckled.

“Ray, you smart, motherfucker,” Geoff said and grabbed a pile of folders in the safe before looking up at Jack. “There's no way.”

“We’re ahead of the game, Geoff,” Jack said and looked down at the map with a few circles burned into it, but wasn't burned through as it focused on specific parts of the city. Geoff thumbed multiple files of various criminals in the city and skimmed quickly through a few.

“Corpirate, the game is on,” Geoff said determinedly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment and kudos!
> 
> Any questions? Feel free to message or tweet me! @xCabooseRTRvB


	5. Mogar's Decision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael makes a decision that changes the course of all of their fates.

“Michael, you're not in trouble.” Geoff repeated seemingly for the thousandth time that day.

The aforementioned man frowned, “Then why does it feel like I am.”

Geoff sighed in frustration before repeating his question from earlier, “What's Ray’s ability?”

Michael shrugged, “I don't fucking know. It's not like he fucking told me, he just said that if he's ever in a fire don't worry about him because he’ll be safe. And look at what happened, he's perfectly fine.”

“Do you think he started the fire?”

Michael stood and glared at him angrily, throwing his arms in the air in exasperation. “Look, Ray would never betray his friends. Neither would I. If Ray had wanted to kill all of you, you know damn well that you'd all be dead already. So leave us the fuck alone.” He started to leave the room, but Jack grabbed his arm and tugged him back in. “What the fuck do you want now?”

Jack shook her head, “We’re not accusing Ray of anything. You're the one who's saying it. Geoff asked do you think _he_ started the fire. Not do you think _Ray_ started the fire. We’re asking you if you think Caleb started it. You're the one accusing Ray, Michael.”

Shit, he fucked up. Time to backpedal.

Michael frowned and freed his arm from her grip to sit back down, “Then don't fucking start talking about Ray then throw a random question out there when you're talking about a totally different person.” Michael sighed, “I don't think Caleb did it, but he's surely capable.”

“Hey Jack, leave us.” Geoff said with his arms crossed over his chest.

Jack nodded and turned to Geoff, “I'll go check on them.” She said, referring to their unconscious and walking out leaving Geoff and Michael by themselves.

Looking up at the Crew’s boss, Michael spoke quietly, “This is purely my opinion, Geoff, and I don't know if you'll listen or not, but I don't think you should trust Caleb. The moment we leave him alone with Kdin and Ray, he strikes and practically incapacitates Ray. It's just something I'd hope you'd take into consideration.”

“Is this concern for our safety or something else?” Geoff questioned suddenly as Michael frowned in response.

“What else would it be?” Michael inquired quietly.

Geoff shrugged and leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, “You tell me. Why did you immediately think we were talking about Ray?”

“I already explained myself.” Michael answered maybe a little bit too quickly. “Why aren't you questioning Caleb?”

“We will, but we need to know who you think did it.” Geoff said and sighed, “We know you didn't do it. We know Kdin, Jack, Gavin, and the Vagabond didn't do it. That leaves Ray, Caleb, and an outsider that could've done it. My first suspicion was Caleb because he hasn't really been here long and Ray almost died to protect important information that we desperately needed. Although I have known Ray the longest out of all of you at approximately six months, I don't particularly trust him either. I don't trust anyone on this Crew fully. But I don't trust you and Ray being together so often. I may be wrong, but suddenly having two people who've known each other for a long time in my Crew is dangerous. More dangerous than the Vagabond, unfortunately. So tell me, Michael, are you on our side or are you plotting our demise?” Geoff deadpanned as Michael was internally arguing with himself.

How did Geoff rationalize all of that?

What was he supposed to do in this type of situation?

Lie or die?

Michael internally cursed himself for what he was about to do. “I'm definitely on your side, Geoff, but I don't trust Ray either. I heard him talking about always getting his partners killed. I didn't ask him about it because I didn't think he'd do that to me, but now that I've seen it myself, he's trying to frame Caleb so you'll kill him or something.”

Geoff’s expression didn't change and Michael thought that he said the wrong thing, but Geoff’s next words calmed him somewhat. “I can see that happening, unfortunately. Ray’s a smart kid and I don't doubt that he probably thinks we're all idiots and he's going to kill us at some point. But Michael.” Oh great. “You've known him for a long time. How do I know you're not lying to me and that you're actually with him?”

Michael pursed his lips and said the first thing that came to mind, “He's working for Taurus. Taurus laughed at me for being so stupid and actually trusting Ray.”

Geoff licked his lips and nodded, “Okay, you can leave now.” The boss turned to face his temporary, makeshift desk and sighed, “Get out of here, I need to think about this newfound information you've given me. Send the Vagabond my way when you can.”

Michael nodded and left the room, closing the door softly and sighing. He stared at the door for a bit before walking away and ran a hand through his hair, tugging on it harshly and grumbling quietly to himself. What the fuck did he just do? He's going to get Ray killed! Or worse, Geoff’s not going to believe him and they both get killed. Michael practically stomped into the other room and sat on a crate with frustration, “Geoff wants to see you, Vagabond.” He mumbled as the Vagabond nodded and left. “How's Ray?” Michael asked without missing a beat.

Caleb looked over at Michael and frowned, “You okay?”

The redhead shook his head, “My question first.”

“He's fine. There's nothing wrong with him physically. Anything happening internally is a mystery.” Caleb answered and waited for Michael to provide his answer.

Michael nodded slowly before answering, “I'm fine, just confused and angry.”

Gavin practically bounced over to Michael’s side as his wings flapped a bit to keep him upright. “You're always angry, lad.” He said with a smile.

“Shut up.” Michael grumbled and stretched, lying down on the crate and tucking his arms under his head as Gavin blinked at him curiously before jumping up to sit on the edge of the crate. His wings flapped and nearly smacked Michael in the face as the redhead clenched his jaw and refused to say anything about it, closing his eyes.

After a while, he heard a faint, “Michael…” and sighed, opening his eyes and looking up at Gavin who watched him with curiosity and worry in his eyes. “Will you ever give me a straight answer, Michael?”

Blinking up at the Brit, Michael was confused about what he was talking about before realizing he was probably talking about his ability. “That depends if we all live afterwards.” He said quietly.

“After the Corpirate?” Gavin asked hopefully.

Michael watched Gavin with his own newfound curiosity. How could someone be so joyful in a time like this? Optimism was always slaughtered on the battlefield and this is no different. One, some, or all of them are going to die no doubt about it. There was no way that Gavin would survive by the end because he was so noticeable and weak, the Corpirate probably already has him on his hit list. But why was he worried about the Brit? Why did he have the sickening feeling that if Gavin died, he wouldn't know how to function properly? He doesn't even know the damn Brit! Michael turned his gaze to the ceiling and sighed, nodding. “After the Corpirate.” He confirmed as Gavin’s face lit up like a Christmas tree and he flew up a few feet in the air throwing his arms in the air in celebration before landing on the ground next to the crate Michael was on.

“Thanks, Michael!” Gavin said, beaming.

Before Michael could respond, however, the Vagabond came back and pointed behind him, “Gavin, your turn.” The Brit looked over and nodded, hovering over to where Geoff was with a wide smile on his face.

 _What an idiot._ Michael thought and immediately felt eyes on him, looking around and meeting the Vagabond’s icy blue eyes through the menacing mask he was always wearing. Frowning when the Vagabond didn't turn away, Michael sat up, “Can I help you, Vagabond?” The Vagabond just shook his head and continued to glare at him for a while. “Is there a problem?” Michael asked and pushed up his glasses.

“Just know that if you try something against us, you won't like the results of your actions.” The Vagabond said as Jack and Caleb exchanged looks before turning their attention to the Vagabond and Michael.

“Whatever.” Michael said and laid back down, turning away from the others and attempting to fall asleep, but he could still feel all three of them staring at him and it unnerved him immensely. He shifted uncomfortably and pulled off his glasses, placing it next to him and closing his eyes so he could at least try to sleep.

Eventually, though, Michael fell into an uneasy slumber.

“Hey Michael, get up.” Someone said and shook him lightly as the redhead blearily blinked his eyes open and jolted awake when he saw who it was, nearly head-butting the other in the head. “Whoa, calm down. Everyone’s asleep and Vagabond’s overwatch tonight. I'm not sure if you're aware.”

“Ray?” Michael rubbed at his eyes and felt for his glasses as the marksman handed him his glasses and Michael slipped them on. “Are you okay?” He whispered worriedly.

The Puerto Rican nodded, “Yeah c’mon, I have to talk to you. We should probably go outside, but I don't want the Vagabond catching us.” He stepped back so that Michael could slide off the crate and stand up. “How long have I been out?” Ray moved to the other side of the room, but Michael grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned to face the redhead, “Michael?”

“I don't want you to make it so that anyone killed ends their life so recklessly. The rooster crows, Ray, the rooster crows. There're consequences of what's happening.” Michael deadpanned as Ray frowned and pulled his arm away from his grip. It was a well-known code they both knew, unfortunately, they used it more than they should.

“You're an idiot.” Ray murmured and walked away from him as Michael followed slowly behind. They walked for a while before Ray cracked open the door wide enough for him to fit through as the Vagabond had his back to the door. He was sitting behind a bush and looked through the scope of the sniper he was holding, slowing his breath to keep his hands steady. Ray grabbed Michael and shoved him through the door as the redhead held the door open for Ray and watched the Vagabond carefully. The marksman kept his footsteps quiet and walked to the other side of the second building as Michael closed the door softly and tried to follow Ray.

“For someone who loves exploding things, you sure are as loud as your toys.” The Vagabond said and turned to Michael who looked at him sheepishly. “What're you doing out here?”

Michael shrugged halfheartedly, “Fresh air, couldn't sleep. Problem?”

The Vagabond chuckled, “You're way more alert now. No, I don't have a problem with you. I have a problem with backstabbers. That's not you, right?”

Michael shook his head, “I'd rather not have anyone on this Crew on my back twenty-four seven. You're all trained killers.”

“That's right. Go do your thing then.” The Vagabond waved him away and looked down the scope again as Michael watched him for a bit before going around the corner to meet Ray who was waiting for him impatiently.

The marksman grabbed his shirt and pulled him away, walking further away from the Vagabond and mumbling quietly. “You're a fucking idiot…” Ray let go of him and crossed his arms, glaring at Michael who sighed. “You told them, didn't you?” Ray asked angrily as Michael just watched him quietly. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“I didn't tell them that we’re working against them. I told them--” Michael stopped himself and studied Ray for a bit. He was pissed. It was so apparent even in the dark and Michael felt guilty. He already felt guilty for opening his stupid fucking mouth. Ray being angry at him meant that he fucked up and that he definitely couldn't take care of Ray no matter how hard he tried. God, he was so screwed. He wanted to apologize, but he knew that just apologizing verbally meant nothing to Ray.

“What did you tell them, Michael?” Ray asked, snapping Michael back to reality.

The redhead looked at him and frowned. Ray’s expression was softer and his voice had a hint of an apology in it. Michael sighed, “I told Geoff that you work for Taurus and that before you've been intentionally murdering your partners. I didn't tell him your abilities and I don't plan to.”

Ray nodded silently and ran a hand through his hair, “How'd you get hurt?” Michael gave him a confused look as Ray rolled his eyes. “I'm not blind, I can see the way you flinch. Taurus was there wasn't he?” Michael nodded guiltily. “Okay, I'll leave and see if I can get Taurus on my side. You stay here and keep the façade up, okay? We’ll get through this, Michael. You should go back, Vagabond’ll be looking for you.”

Michael shook his head, “You need to tell me what happened with you first.”

Ray sighed and nodded, “I lost control like every other time. I can't control it properly, but I'll get it eventually. I saved the things we need, though. Most likely Geoff will recruit those people and scout out those areas. No more surprises Michael, we’re in control now. You know what to do.”

“Yeah, I know.” Michael said and heard the Vagabond faintly say his name. Michael nodded at Ray who raised a peace sign and curled the two fingers like a bunny rabbit’s would. Michael did the same as Ray sprinted off quietly just as the Vagabond rounded the corner.

“There you are.” The Vagabond said and walked closer as Michael backed up in response. “What? Scared?” He asked menacingly and took off the mask, running a hand through his hair as Michael took another step back.

“Your paint’s smudged.” Michael commented as the Vagabond wiped a bit of paint off his chin and looked down at it like he would never have known that he was wearing paint if the redhead never pointed it out. “I'm not scared. I'm on edge.”

“Why?” The Vagabond inquired and placed his mask back on. “Well, I mean, we’re basically in a war right now with people dying left and right. Guns blazing and fires burning down buildings. People going crazy and everything’s at stake. What else would get you on edge?”

Michael grimaced and lowered his head, “Thanks, I totally needed that. Your encouragement helps me through the day, Vagabond.”

The Vagabond laughed and walked over, patting him on the back, “No problem, I know I shouldn't trust you because of what's happened, but hey my gut’s telling me that I should.”

Michael gave him a weird look, “Are you sure you're the Vagabond?”

The Vagabond nodded, “Unfortunately yes. Optimism and positivity mean more people I care about live.”

“You care about people?” Michael questioned, but immediately regretted it and covered his mouth. “Sorry, I didn't mean it like that.”

The Vagabond waved away his apology, “It's fine. I do have people I care about and I won't make the mistake of getting them killed.”

“You're not very positive, though.” Michael commented quietly.

“Yeah, well, what I said earlier was a joke. I'd much rather boost the morale so tension doesn't interfere with our performance.” The Vagabond explained simply and leaned on the wall, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Michael frowned, “Hey, um, you work better when you work by yourself, so why are you working with us?”

The Vagabond hummed and sighed, “You're the only person who has the guts to ask me that question. And to think that I wouldn't have to answer it.”

“You don't have to.”

“No, it's fine.” The Vagabond said quickly and looked up at the moon with a small smile. “You're right, I do work better alone when I don't have to watch other people’s backs other than my own. I thought it was the most efficient way of taking down my opponents, but then the Corpirate got in my way. He's prepared to reach the top and he isn't afraid of his opponents. He'll kill anyone who opposes him without a second thought. I had to take him down. So when Geoff offered me a job, I had to accept.”

“Are you still leaving afterwards?” Michael asked curiously as the Vagabond sighed.

“I don't know. My goal was the end of the Corpirate and then I go back into hiding for a while, but Geoff’s dream is so reachable and achievable I'm afraid if I leave it'll only get you all killed.” The Vagabond said and shook his head, chuckling a bit. “I guess that means I care about you fuckers.”

“That's dangerous in this business. Personal feelings shouldn't be shown on the battlefield.” Michael stated.

The Vagabond nodded in agreement, “Though, you should listen to your own words, Michael.”

“What do you mean?” Michael asked quizzically.

The Vagabond laughed boisterously, “Are you really that stupid?”

“I guess I am.” Michael replied.

“You and Ray.” The Vagabond said simply as Michael still stared at him cluelessly. “Oh, you two are definitely love struck. It's bad.”

Michael was lucky it was dark out because then the Vagabond would be able to see the clear as day blush on his cheeks. “Ray and I aren't like that!” Michael said quickly. “We’re just friends.”

The Vagabond laughed even more, “Yes, very _intimate_ friends.”

Michael frowned, “We're not! Y’know what? Never mind…” Michael grumbled and stomped off as the Vagabond cackled behind him. Michael opened the door to the second building and closed the door walking further into the building as the laughs of the Vagabond faded. Michael didn't love Ray like that. Ray was his best friend! Sure, the two dated in secret for a year back in high school, but they broke up because they knew that they weren't meant for each other.

Plus, Michael has eyes on a certain annoying and squawking Brit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Which side are you rooting for?
> 
> Questions? Comments? Concerns? Criticism? Please leave a comment, it gives me a lot of motivation to keep writing!


	6. The Hacker Awakens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kdin finally wakes up, and Geoff makes a deal with Taurus.

“Vagabond, are you sure that you didn't see Ray sneak out?” Geoff asked and the Vagabond shook his head as Geoff sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Was anyone else awake that could've possibly seen him leave?” Michael and the Vagabond exchanged quick glances as Michael slightly shook his head. Luckily, Geoff didn't notice.

Jack walked over to them with a coffee mug and handed it to Geoff who thanked her. “I think you need to take a break. All this planning is raising your paranoia levels.”

“Paranoia levels?” The Vagabond inquired with a raised brow as Jack shrugged with a small smile.

“It's a condition only Geoff gets.” Jack explained simply as Gavin chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Anyway Geoff, go sleep for more than two hours and take a break from everything. You've been stressed out.”

Geoff shook his head, “There's no time to wait. We need to figure out where Ray is or else we’ll need to replace him.”

The Vagabond shook his head, “There's no one as good of a shot as him, Geoff. Plus, what if Ray’s in trouble and he needs our help?”

“He's right, Ray won't break, but we still need him alive for now.” Jack agreed.

Geoff sighed and nodded, “Okay, our first priority is finding Ray.” Geoff turned to Michael, “Where would he most likely run off to?”

“Taurus,” Michael answered immediately. “He always said how he feels safe with him.”

Geoff nodded, “You do realize that since you're giving us this information, you're siding with us. But the moment you side with Ray, you'll be considered an enemy.”

“Ray's innocent until proven guilty, Geoff.” Jack reminded him as Geoff sighed.

“I know. I'm just on edge.” Geoff explained simply as the Vagabond frowned and glanced at Michael who clenched his jaw. “Okay, we’re going to make this clear. Ray is innocent so if you ever see him bring him in. Alive preferably. But if he tries to attack you, end him.”

“What if he's forced to attack us? What if he's on a leash?” The Vagabond asked.

Geoff was about to answer, but Jack placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. Sighing, Geoff nodded and took a few steps back as Jack took over. “If you see Ray, bring him in. If he attacks, fight and try to get as much information as you can. Remember to listen for secret messages from him. We don't know what his intentions are, but we will find out. Any questions?”

“Yeah, what happens if you declare Ray guilty?” The Vagabond asked curiously and leaned forward in anticipation, narrowing his eyes.

Jack pursed her lips and sighed, “We capture him and try to get information. Torture him if necessary. If he's truly on our side, then we won't have to go to that. For now, we need to keep getting ready to move. Vagabond, check on Caleb and Kdin. Gavin and Michael, load the crates into the vehicle outside. Geoff, come with me.” Everyone left as Jack and Geoff moved into the other room that they were temporarily using as an office. Jack closed the door behind them, “Geoff, I want honesty right now. Who do you honestly think is the traitor? Do you even think there is one?”

Geoff shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, “I don't know.”

Jack nodded slowly and leaned on the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. “You don't want to believe that Ray would betray us like that and Caleb is the only other person to put the blame on. Except, there's nothing that points all the fingers at him and you don't want to accuse one of our own.” Jack concluded as Geoff averted his eyes and nodded. Jack sighed, “We’ll need to hear Ray’s side of the story before we start pointing more fingers.”

“I told Michael that I don't trust any of you, but that was a lie. I do, I honestly do trust all of you. Despite the short amount of time that we’ve spent together, I consider you guys my family. I shouldn't get attached to my men, though. It’ll be the downfall of our entire Crew if I care about every single one of you.” Geoff sighed and sat down on a chair, looking at Jack with a defeated look. “We haven't even started a single heist and we’re already having problems as a team.”

Jack shook her head, “It's completely okay to care about your men, Geoff. I'd honestly be more worried if you didn't, but that's beside the point. You trust these people, you'd give your life for them, correct?” Geoff nodded as Jack smiled and continued, “Then we’re going to keep them all safe. This situation we’re in is testing your leadership skills, Geoff. You're forced to make a decision. The only thing I can do for you is give you advice. Everything we do in this Crew is entirely up to you.”

Geoff nodded, “I know and I'm ready.”

“Are you sure?” Jack asked unsure.

“Yeah.” Geoff replied as the door opened abruptly and Michael looked at them. “Michael, we're having a private meeting.”

Michael huffed, “I know, but it's about Kdin. She's awake.” He informed as Geoff’s eyes widened. “C’mon!” He motioned for them to follow him and they did. Geoff stopped at the entrance of the room and watched as Gavin spoke quietly to Kdin who nodded along.

Caleb turned to Geoff, “There was honestly a slim chance she would've woken up from her coma.”

Geoff stared at him angrily, “You decide to tell us this now?”

Jack stopped Geoff from advancing towards Caleb, “How slim were the chances?” She asked curiously.

“About ten percent.” Caleb deadpanned and continued before Geoff could blow up in his face. “The only reason I didn't tell you is because I knew she'd survive so there was no point in giving you bad news if I already knew the outcome.”

“Do you want to explain how you already knew this information?” Jack questioned with a raised brow as Caleb clenched his jaw and shook his head.

“I wish I could, but you'd throw me out like some kind of animal.” Caleb said and walked over to Gavin and Kdin, resting a hand on Gavin’s shoulder as the Brit stopped his rambling and looked up at the other. He nodded and stood, walking to Michael’s side as Caleb started asking Kdin various questions.

“It's not good that he's keeping a secret.” Geoff commented uneasily.

Jack shook her head, “Everyone here has a secret, Geoff. Don't worry about it now or else it's going to consume you. We can't have that happen.”

Geoff just shook his head and sighed, turning his attention to Caleb. “Caleb, is she okay?”

He nodded, “Yeah, she should be fine, but she’ll need some nutrition quickly.” As if he heard, the Vagabond walked in with a plate of food and a bottle of water, crouching next to Caleb who nodded at him and stood. Quietly, the Vagabond asked Kdin what she wanted to eat as she slowly moved into a sitting position with her hand on her abdomen. “I'd say give her a couple of days to get her strength up.” Caleb informed.

Geoff sighed in relief, “One problem out of the way. Next issue?”

“Yeah, some Special is going to call you in about three seconds.” Caleb said.

Before Geoff could reply, his phone rang and he clenched his jaw taking out his phone and looking at the ID as Jack frowned at Caleb who shrugged and went back to Kdin’s side. Geoff answered the call, “Hello?”

“ _Hello Ramsey…_ ”

“Taurus.” Geoff scowled which caught everyone’s attention.

“Taurus? As in, White Fang Taurus?” Kdin questioned with a scratchy rough voice and coughed harshly as the Vagabond quickly handed her the water bottle and nodded. She thanked him silently and downed half of it in one go. “What's Taurus doing calling you?” Geoff shook his head and left the room with Jack following him closely.

“Later.” The Vagabond said quietly as Kdin stared at him for a bit before nodding slowly. His skull mask didn't faze her one bit. “For now, just eat.”

“You're the Vagabond.” Kdin stated and looked around curiously, “So the Kingpin, the Architect, Mogar, and Gavin Free.” When her eyes landed on Gavin, she smiled and pushed aside the blanket, moving to stand and almost falling unceremoniously as the Vagabond quickly went to her side and helped her sit back down because she clearly didn't have the strength to stand much less walk. “Thanks.” She said and turned back to Gavin, “Hey Gav, I gave you quite a scare there.”

Gavin huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “Yeah and you're a right prick for not giving me your location right away!”

“Look, I'm sorry okay?” Kdin said quietly and sighed, “I wasn't honestly expecting I would live. Plus, I didn't know if you would even make it in time.”

“At least give me the chance to!” Gavin shouted and frowned, clenching his jaw when he saw Kdin flinch. He sighed and his expression softened, “I just don't want to lose anyone else close to me. I'm sorry for yelling.”

Kdin shook her head slightly, “No, it's my fault I had no faith in you.”

“Truce?” Gavin asked with a smirk.

Kdin smiled and agreed, “Truce.” 

“You should probably eat now, by the way.” The Vagabond said as Kdin’s stomach growled loudly and Gavin howled with laughter. The Vagabond chuckled, “I think something else agrees with me.”

Kdin laughed, “Yeah, I guess so.” The Vagabond handed her a slice of bread as she took it curiously and examined it closely almost as if she didn't know what it was. After a while, she started nibbling on it and visibly relaxed. She swallowed before saying, “Are you sure this is only bread?”

Gavin chuckled, “You tell me, Fügz.”

“Is there poison?” Kdin asked sarcastically as Gavin laughed, shaking his head. Kdin continued to eat silently and looked around the room in obvious curiosity as her eyes landed on Caleb who averted his gaze immediately. Kdin narrowed her eyes and lowered the half-eaten slice of bread from her mouth, “You're the one who made sure I lived. You have medical experience. Ah, what was your name? Ultimate.” Kdin settled on with a slight smile as Caleb turned to her in surprise.

“How did you…?” Caleb trailed off as Kdin shrugged halfheartedly. “I haven't used that alias in four years.”

“Yeah, but it doesn't change your face.” Kdin explained simply.

“You're also talking to a master data analyst and hacker.” Gavin smiled widely. “She probably knows everything about everything.”

“Oh…” Caleb says in realization. “You're not planning to--”

Kdin quickly shook her head, “I'm not giving away secrets because I'm not that kind of person.” Caleb nodded slowly.

“That doesn't put my mind to ease.” Caleb replied with a small frown.

“How much do you know about us?” Michael asked solemnly with his arms crossed.

“Whatever’s on your record under that name, but I also know most of your true identities.” Kdin answered. “I don't plan on making enemies with this Crew, though.”

“Good.” Michael said.

At that moment, Geoff walked back in with Jack right behind him and looked at each of them as everyone immediately quieted. “Alright, by the end of the month we’ll need a full team. That gives us two weeks. We already have a list of people we can look up, but Kdin,” she looked up at him in anticipation. “I heard you're good with a computer. Think you can search up and find these people?” Geoff walked over and handed her the files.

Kdin smirked and skimmed through some of them, “Even better, I'll get you people who can stand on their own but are still team players. I'll still look up the others though if you wish.”

Geoff nodded, “Jack and I will be working closely with Taurus, so in the meantime, I'll need you guys to get ready for war. We’re combining the Fake AH Crew and the White Fang and our target is the Corpirate.”

“The Corpirate?” Kdin questioned and looked up from the files, “Well shit, you're going to need people better than this. Though, two of these people seem to meet our quota.”

“Who?” Jack asked.

Kdin raised two files and opened one of them, showing it to them as they skimmed through the information themselves. “Zed Direction, he's a perfect spy. He can get in and out of situations with no problem. He's loud, ruthless, and cunning. Everything you need for an inside man. Also, no one has any record on what he looks like. That's why he's wearing a hockey mask in the picture. Hell, _I_ don't even know what he looks like.” Kdin presented the other file, “His partner, Dooley Noted, Zed’s back up and the only person Zed truly trusts. Dooley is a master with a sniper and can surprisingly escape any trap or bindings in a matter of minutes. Unlike Zed, Dooley is quiet, reasonable, and naïve. The two are polar opposites, but fill in for each other well.”

“Dooley’s five foot four?” Michael asked and successfully stifled a laugh so he wouldn't smile, but everyone else was cracking up. “No wonder he can get out of bindings, he's too small for it to even restrain him.” Geoff and Gavin laughed boisterously, Jack and the Vagabond chuckled, Caleb only smiled, and Kdin rolled her eyes.

Geoff wiped away an imaginary tear and calmed down enough to say, “Okay, enough of that. Who were you planning on bringing in, Kdin?”

Kdin smirked, “Tugg Life and Axial. I can't tell you much about Tuggey, but I can say that the more enemies you put against her the more she’ll want to fight alongside you. That'll make more sense once you get to know her. As for Axial, he's a simple mechanic, but one of the best. He’ll make anything fly or drive. He knows anything and everything about machinery, he’ll probably find something wrong with Gavin’s motorcycle. But then again, there's always something wrong with his motorcycle.”

“Hey!” Gavin protested with a pout.

“You know it's true.” Kdin replied with a grin as Gavin pretended to look offended.

Geoff clapped his hands together and smiled, “Alright, we have the people, Gavin it's your turn to recruit them. Vagabond, you'll be his backup obviously. Michael, Caleb, Jack and I will finish packing the crates and moving to our new base of operations. Kdin, I'm going to need you to give me a location of someone important.”

She nodded, “I can do that. Name?”

“Brownman.” Geoff answered as Kdin looked at him in surprise and Michael clenched his jaw.

“Is he not with the White Fang?”

“We’re not sure, so we want you to check for us.” Geoff replied.

“Was that in Brownman’s file?” Jack asked curiously.

Kdin shook her head, “There's barely any info on Brownman, but it does say somewhere that he has worked for them at some point. It doesn't say if he currently does, but it was his last known affiliation.”

Geoff looked at all of them with a wide smile and said encouragingly, “Okay, let's get to work lads, we have a lot to get done for the rest of the month before we go against the Corpirate. Let's make every second count!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment! I love hearing from you guys! ^~^
> 
> Oooh, new people incoming! Who's excited for the four newcomers?


	7. Unexpected Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin attempts to recruit Zed Direction and Dooley Noted. Later on, Michael and Kdin recruit Axial and Tugg Life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, 1.1k hits... Thank you so much, guys! I really love how this is turning out and I love how you guys are loving this so far. Also, I'm very sorry about the very slow build up, but don't worry! The action will come soon!
> 
> Also, this is the longest chapter so far. Hope you guys like it!

Smoking a burning cigarette, Gavin leaned on the wall next to the door of the club with his arms crossed and he kept his eyes on the floor, bobbing his head slightly to the music that was booming inside. Kdin had given him the location of Zed Direction and Dooley Noted’s next hit and the hybrid was more than happy to say hello to the new faces that would hopefully join them. He arrived at the location ten minutes early and right on schedule he saw a ‘couple’ walk up to the door and talk quietly to each other before entering the club. He knew that couple was them. Gavin smirked and lifted his head to look up at the camera, “Well, aren't they punctual.”

“ _Focus Gavin,_ ” Kdin replied halfheartedly. “ _If you lose them then we won't be able to find them for another week or two._ ”

Gavin pulled the cigarette away from his mouth and extinguished it in the ashtray above the trash can. “Yeah, yeah I know.” Gavin said and walked into the club, showing the bouncer his fake ID and instantly spotting the ‘couple’ at the bar to the left. “Found them. Do you have eyes in here?”

“ _Any phone, camera, and electrical devices are mine to command, Gavino._ ”

Gavin grinned and nodded at a couple that walked by him, “Show off.” Gavin huffed out and started walking over to the bar, sitting down four chairs away from them and glanced at them. “I've got visual.”

“ _I trust you and all, but y’mind tossing one of my babies their way? Plus, you don't have audio._ ”

The bartender walked up to him and raised an expectant brow, “Have some Red Bull lad?” Gavin asked with a charming smile as the bartender gave him a weird look before walking away. “Cheers!” He exclaimed. Once the smile slipped from his face, Gavin reached into his pocket and took out a glasses case, opening it under the bar and feeling a tiny mechanical bug crawl up his arm quickly and jump onto his wings. Gavin yawned and stretched his wings out as far as possible, the bug jumping off of his wing and landing on Zed’s shoulder. Retracting his wings closer to him, Gavin smiled and thanked the bartender who slid the drink to him.

“ _I've got visual and audio. Wanna hear? Drinking for three seconds is a yes._ ”

Gavin raised the can to his mouth and drank for three seconds, lowering the can onto the coaster as the audio in his earpiece switched to the conversation Zed and Dooley were having as Gavin glanced over to them occasionally to sync their voices to the person who was visibly talking.

“ _Nervous?_ ” Gavin assumed that was Zed because Dooley shook his head.

“ _No, just thinking._ ”

“ _You're bouncing your leg like you've got spiders crawling all over it!_ ” Zed exclaimed with a smile and softened his expression soon after when he saw Dooley drop his head a bit. “ _Love, you know I wouldn't let anything happen to you._ ”

“ _I know,_ ” Dooley said quietly as Zed moved to lean fully on the bar, covering Gavin’s view of Dooley.

“ _So I was thinking that after we're done here we can go back home and have some fun times._ ” Gavin could practically hear the smile in Zed’s voice and rolled his eyes at the implication.

“ _Dooley’s moving,_ ” Kdin reported and Gavin downed the rest of his Red Bull, standing and putting a ten dollar bill on the counter. He made his way over to the bathroom which was conveniently near the pair. “ _I've lost visual of Dooley."_

“How did you bloody manage to do that?” Gavin asked quietly and purposefully bumped into Zed, making the other drop his drink all over himself as the mechanical bug jumped onto Gavin’s shoulder. “Oh sorry, lad, there's too many people in this place.” Gavin took a bunch of napkins and started helping Zed clean himself.

Waving away his concern with a charming smile, Zed replied, “Don't worry about it, I'm sure it happens with you all the time.”

“What do you mean?” Gavin asked honestly confused and panicked for a bit.

Zed rolled his eyes and pointed at his wings, “Those things must get in the way all the time.”

Gavin nodded stupidly, “Yeah, but I've managed.”

“ _Smooth,_ ” Kdin said dully.

Zed frowned at his clothes and picked at it, “I'm gonna go to the bathroom to clean this up.”

“Do you need help?” Gavin offered, hoping Zed would reject it.

Shaking his head, Zed started making his way to the bathroom, “No, I'm fine, but if you see a small, well built and handsome man walking around. Bring him my way, would ya?” Gavin nodded and waved, watching Zed walk into the bathroom.

“He's on an assignment and he's going to the bathroom? Are you sure these guys are the right people?” Gavin asked curiously. “They seem too casual.”

“ _You're questioning me, Gavino Free?_ ”

“Right… Sorry.”

“ _Truce?_ ”

“Truce,” Gavin repeated with a small smile and walked down the hall the bathroom was in, looking around for Dooley. “Any visual on our escapist?”

“ _No, check on Zed, though. Vagabond and I'll find Dooley as quick as possible. Be careful, Gav._ ” The mechanical bug flew away in search of the small, well built and handsome man.

Gavin nodded and walked back down the hall to the bathroom, looking around curiously before cracking open the door and searching the inside for a bit. One hand immediately went on his gun as he stepped inside quietly and looked for Zed who seemed to no longer be there. Frowning, Gavin was about to report it to Kdin, but something metallic swiped him across the head and knocked him unconscious.

_”Gavin? Gavin? Gavin! Shit, Vagabond! Get in there!”_

_“No, I'll watch from afar. They'll be more hostile if I intervene.”_

_”I hope you know what you're doing. If he dies, it's on your head."_

°~∆∆∆~°

There was a small moment Gavin barely caught two people speaking, but he couldn't register who they were. It felt like someone was carrying him because something was digging into his stomach and an arm was wrapped around his waist.

“You're bringing him?”

“Yes, we’ll worry about him later. Did you get the target?”

“Of course I did.”

“Let's go then.”

Gavin drifted into unconsciousness again. When he was conscious again, Gavin immediately registered that he was tied to a chair and lifted his head a bit, a splitting headache and his wings aching made him moan. “He's awake.” Someone said dully as Gavin slowly opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to adjust to the blinding light in the room, trying to spread out his wings but they wouldn't budge.

The sound of footsteps coming his way made him panic and he shot his head up, looking around frantically for the source of the footsteps. “Your gang’s pretty cooperative, Free.”

“What do you want?” Gavin asked immediately and blinked a couple more times as his vision cleared, seeing Zed stood in front of him with his arms crossed and Dooley leaned on one of the pillars that kept the warehouse up watching them with a bored look.

“We wanted to know why you were scouting us, but they've already answered that question,” Zed answered, the menacing hockey mask staring at him intimidatingly. Zed leaned in closely as his voice lowered, “So the next question is, are we going to accept your most generous offer?” His concentrated brown--or were those a warm ocean blue?--eyes watched him almost like he was studying Gavin for a lie of some sort. Suddenly, Zed straightened up and placed his hands on his hips, “Dooley?”

“We work better alone, you know that,” Dooley answered immediately as Zed chuckled.

“We do, don't we?” Zed said slyly. If the mask wasn't covering his face, Gavin would probably see a smirk or grin etched into his expression.

“Yup,” Dooley said and walked over. “Though, he's seen your face, you know. So, off the pier. Problem solved.” Gavin gulped.

“No…” Zed answered. “We wouldn't want a whole gang coming after us. I do have a proposal, however.” Gavin glared at him. He didn't know what these people wanted and what they were capable of. He didn't know who they were and what their specific record was. Were they even trustworthy? “We let Free here live and we give him back to you, but in return, you leave us alone and give us protection when we need it.” Gavin frowned before realizing that Zed had his earpiece and that he was talking directly to Kdin or Geoff or maybe even everyone. Today was just not his day.

Dooley watched Zed expectantly and raised a brow when Zed nodded and agreed with whoever was talking to him. “What'd they say?”

“We’re giving him back in one piece and they agree to our offer or else we kill Mr. Free here. The location will be the pier conveniently.” Zed answered and turned to face Dooley, switching off the earpiece.

“And you believe them?” Dooley asked with a frown.

Zed moved behind Gavin who tried following him with his eyes, but he couldn't turn further without damaging his wings somehow. “We’ll see when we meet them there.” The rope loosened around Gavin and he became confused, finally turning to face Zed who had taken off his mask at some point and smiled innocently at him. “There, your wings shouldn't have that kind of pressure on it.”

Gavin frowned and extended his wings to stretch them out, “You're just letting me… Roam free?” There was a sharp pain that shot through his left wing and he curled it in slowly, massaging it carefully.

Dooley laughed, “Good one.”

“That was unintentional,” Gavin replied when he realized he was laughing at the pun.

Rolling his eyes, Zed sighed and stood up straight, answering Gavin’s question. “Yes, because I only strike fear into the people who deserve it and you, Sir, don't deserve it. Unless of course, your little gang backstabs us because you think it'll be funny. I don't see it in you, though. You seem honest enough. The others, your little Crew? That's questionable.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see,” Dooley said, already moving to the exit of the warehouse.

“Yes, come on then!” Zed followed Dooley and motioned the hybrid over who watched them quizzically before Gavin stood from the chair and curled his other wing in close. Gavin walked out of the warehouse and saw Zed leaning on an unmarked black SUV and watching Gavin expectantly. “We’re not going to hurt you. Actually, that's the last thing I wanted to do. Sorry about your wing, I'll make it up to you somehow, promise.” The spy opened the passenger side door and got in closing the door softly as the bird hybrid watched him skeptically. The window rolled down, “Unless you want to walk from here, I suggest you get in. It's going to rain soon. Plus, if you're thinking about flying, don't. You'll damage your wings further.”

Gavin frowned, “Why didn’t you kill me?”

Zed raised a brow, “Would you rather have us kill you?”

“Because that can be arranged,” Dooley added instantly.

“We’re not killing him.” Zed reminded him, “He hasn’t done anything wrong.”

“Besides take a look at that disgusting face of yours,” Dooley remarked snarkily with a smirk.

Zed rolled his eyes and flipped Dooley off as he kept his eyes on Gavin, “So?” Wordlessly, Gavin walked towards the car and cautiously got in the back, clicking his belt into place and sitting close to the door so he could jump out if he needed to. Zed turned, “Buckled in?” Gavin nodded silently as Zed raised a brow at Dooley and smiled, sitting back in the chair and throwing his arms behind his head as a temporary pillow. “Go on, Dooley.” The aforementioned drove off and kept his eyes on the road as Gavin spoke quietly.

“Why?” Gavin asked quietly, keeping his eyes glued to the back of the seat as Zed smiled a bit, but it faltered almost immediately at his next words. “You're criminals. I don't… I don't understand…”

“Lemme ask you a question, Free,” Zed said.

“Gavin…” The Brit muttered quietly. “My name is Gavin.” He said a little louder.

There was a small pause and Zed looked over at him in the side view mirror, “Okay Gavin, I'm going to ask you a question. Why do you think criminals are obligated to kill?”

Gavin shrugged halfheartedly, “They're criminals, it's all they do.”

“Now, now, now, you're saying ‘they're’. Are you not a criminal?” Zed inquired with a raised brow.

 “I am…” Gavin replied quietly.

“Why are you speaking like that then? And why do you assume all criminals kill people?” Zed questioned and kept his gaze on Gavin who was shrinking back into the chair and his wings which made him wince. Zed sighed, “I'm not trying to scare you, kid. I'm just trying to understand how someone like you got into a business like this.”

“I had nowhere to go.” Gavin uttered under his breath. Why was he telling them this? He hadn't told anyone anything about his past. Why was he doing it now? No, there's something wrong here. They're getting information by making him speak, he had to keep his mouth shut. But something was making him do it. Nothing compelled him to ever tell anyone any secret of his unless they were a...

Special.

Widening his eyes in terror, Gavin quickly grabbed the door handle to open it, but it was locked immediately and his mouth fell open. He slowly looked over at the two people in the front, but they refused to look at him directly. “Let me out,” Gavin ordered. “Let me out!” He shouted when they didn't move after several seconds.

“You need to calm down,” Zed said calmly.

“You're going to kill me anyway!” Gavin realized and pulled the handle, trying to get it to open. “Open, you stupid door!”

“That door has feelings,” Dooley remarked with his voice just as calm as Zed’s. “Don't call it fat, it'll get offended and smash your hand.”

“What are you on about?” Gavin asked incredulously and tried pulling and pushing it open again. “You're both nuts!”

“That's offensive,” Dooley replied.

Zed pulled on his mask, “And we offered to give you a ride and be nice to you, but you insult us?” Gavin frantically attempted over and over to try to get it open, but he knew he couldn't get out. They had him trapped and probably right where they wanted him. They weren't bringing him to the pier to make a deal with Geoff. No, they were going to kill him right in front of everyone. Oh god, he had to get out.

“We’re here,” Dooley said suddenly as Zed unlocked his own door and stepped out, pushing his hands into his pants pockets and casually walking closer to Geoff who met him hallway. Dooley turned to Gavin expressionless, “Calm down, you're having a panic attack for no reason. We’re not harming you in any way, Gavin.”

“I'm not having a panic attack! Why am I locked in here anyway? I can practically run to Geoff right now!”

“So you don't do something stupid that'll get us all killed.” Dooley deadpanned.

“You're a right prick.”

“So I've been told.”

“By who?” Gavin inquired disbelievingly, his face turning sour.

“You. Just now.” Dooley said with a smirk.

Gavin glared at Dooley, “Let me go or I swear you're going to regret it!” The door opened suddenly and Gavin turned, moving away immediately when he saw Zed standing there. “Get away from me!”

The mask stared at him and he swore that it started morphing into something more monstrous. Zed offered a hand and kept his distance from him, “I won't hurt you. If you don't want my help getting out of the car, then tell me and I'll step away.”

Gavin stared at him in disbelief as brown eyes watched him with apathy, “I don't need your help!” He snapped and Zed stood still for a couple of seconds before nodding and stepping away from the exit. The exit… Gavin’s freedom. The bird hybrid nearly jumped out of the car and ran for Geoff who was welcoming him back with open arms. Gavin ran into the other’s embrace and spoke quietly, “I'm so glad you're here…” When did it start raining?

“Did they hurt you?” Geoff asked as Gavin shook his head.

“I'm fine, Geoff.”

Geoff smiled down at him, but it disappeared when his attention refocused on Zed and Dooley, “We have a truce! If you break it, you're both dead!” Gavin pulled away and watched them interact with each other.

Zed smirked, “Oh trust us, we don't plan to. If _you_ double cross us, then expect one less member on your team.”

“We don't plan to.” Geoff echoed as Zed’s smirk turned into a smile.

“Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you boys. If we ever need your help, we’ll make sure to give you a call.” Zed said and moved to the open passenger door, keeping eye contact with Geoff.

“You won’t call,” Geoff replied, his jaw clenched.

“See? You know us already.” Zed waved goodbye, “We’ll see you all again sometime in the near future. Hopefully never. Goodbye!” Zed got in the car and closed the door as the SUV drove off.

Geoff turned to Gavin, “Did they hurt you?” He asked and quickly checked the other.

Gavin shook his head and bat Geoff’s hands away, “No, they didn't hurt me.” Gavin assured, annoyed.

“Good.” Geoff smiled and ruffled the other’s already messy hair. “Vagabond, you can come down now,” Geoff said into the earpiece. Gavin frowned suddenly. Why does it feel like Gavin forgot about something? Something important. But what was it? “Gavin, you okay?”

“What?” The bird hybrid said on impulse before shaking his head to clear his thoughts. Gavin waved away the other’s concern, “Yeah, I'm fine. We should go now.”

Geoff watched him carefully before nodding, “Okay, let's go. You're staying at the safe house to get looked over by Caleb while Kdin and Michael talk to Tugg Life and Axial.” Geoff gently grabbed Gavin’s arm and pulled him towards their car as the hybrid saw the Vagabond jump in and start the car, waiting for them patiently. Geoff got in the passenger seat and Gavin got in the back, leaning forward so his wings wouldn't endure any more pain. The Vagabond drove for the safe house and the whole drive was silent.

°~∆∆∆~°

Michael watched Kdin carefully and frowned when she flicked the lighter on before closing it for the twentieth time that night. She knew. She knew everything about them already. He knew that she knew. His eyes narrowed at her, boring holes into her and making sure that she knew that he was watching her. Finally, Kdin sighed and turned to look at him, “Why are you here, Michael?”

“Mogar.” He corrected instantly. “We’re on assignment.”

Kdin watched him with a bored look in her eyes, “Okay fine, Mogar. Why aren't you with Brownman?”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Michael responded.

Kdin raised a brow, “Uh huh…” She said, unimpressed. “Look, I know you know that I know everything that's on your files--which isn't much honestly--but that's not the point. I'm not here to out any of you. I know all about how you and Brownman are in affiliation with the White Fang right now. In fact, Taurus was the one who told you two to put your names on the map and become the best you can be so Ramsey would recruit you.” Michael glared at Kdin who licked her lips, “That's not on your files, I know, but I have eyes and ears. Free was joining a new Crew, so I made him tell me the names of everyone in there. I had to ensure that he'd be safe in all of your hands. Unfortunately, one of my informants was apart of the White Fang and betrayed me, almost killing me if Free didn't come in time. Did you know?”

“No,” Michael answered honestly but continued to glare at her.

“Did Brownman know?”

“I don't know,” Michael said. “If he did, he never told me.”

Kdin studied Michael closely, attempting to find some form of a lie in his words, tone, expression, or body language. Michael wasn't sure what the other concluded, but her next words made his frown more apparent. “Whose side are you on, Mogar?”

“I don't have to answer that,” Michael replied.

“No, you don't. If you're with the White Fang, I have one request.” Kdin spoke quietly and Michael raised a questioning brow. “Keep Free safe and don't kill him. He's already faced so much shit during his life. He deserves a life without discrimination.”

“And we don't?”

“Has Gavin purposefully tried to kill any of you?”

“No, but I bet he's killed someone.”

Kdin shook her head, almost in relief. “He hasn't hurt anyone. He hasn't killed someone. He hasn't shot anyone. Why do you think he's a negotiator instead of back up? He's on the frontlines, Mogar! What does that tell you?”

“I don't know what you're trying to get at, Fügz,” Michael answered.

“Bullshit,” Kdin said angrily. “You know exactly what I mean.” Michael just shook his head and she pulled at her hair in frustration. She sighed, “He doesn't care about his own life, Mogar. He’ll make sure to get shot first before someone else he cares about gets hurt. Has he asked you about your abilities?”

Michael’s eyes widened suddenly and he took a step back, “That's not on my file.”

“No, it's not, but Gavin told me that you don't smile because you're a Special.”

“What does this have to do with Gavin?”

Before Kdin could answer, a loud voice spoke up, “Fügz, you asshole!” The two turned as a red haired girl wielding a machine gun walked up to them with a wide smile. “Who's your friend, Fügz?” She asked with her innocent smile, raising it to aim at Michael who in response unholstered his own weapon and pointed it right at her.

“I thought she was your friend.” Michael reminded her angrily and assumed that this newcomer was Tugg Life.

“You better be the reason why Fügz didn't come back that one day because I'm itching for some bloodshed today,” Tugg replied slyly.

Kdin shook her head, “No, he's not. He's apart of the Crew that saved my life, in fact.”

She tilted her head to the side and her smile faltered, “That's disappointing.” Tugg said and examined Michael for a while before sighing and lowering her weapon. “Thanks for saving her. She's really important to me, Gavin is too so…” She paused as if she didn't want to repeat the word, but she said it anyway. “Thanks.”

“I didn't do shit.” Michael deadpanned and kept his gun pointed at her.

Tugg frowned and turned to Kdin with a bored look, “I'm assuming this is Michael.” Kdin simply nodded and Tugg continued, “And he's cool?”

Kdin nodded once again, “They all are. Though, I'd be careful around Brownman.”

“The sniper?” Tugg asked as Kdin nodded silently. “Okay then… Hey Axial, you're clear to come down.” Tugg smiled suddenly and Michael clenched his jaw, looking around for Axial so he could shoot him first. How stupid, he completely forgot about Axial and he let his guard down. Were they going to kill him? He had no back up if they did ambush him. Either way, he would be able to get out with a simple action. But Gavin, Kdin, Tugg, and Axial all knew each other, were they planning the same thing him and Ray were planning? Or were they different? In the short time he’s known Gavin, the Brit was fairly clueless and happy. There was no way someone like that could be capable of slitting their throats in the middle of the night, unless of course, they were playing the long game. Michael frowned. He had to watch them closely, especially since Ray wasn’t there to back him up.

Before he knew it, a man strolled into their view. He wore a red hoodie--the hood was over his head, covering half his face--and wielded a sniper rifle, which was propped on his shoulder with his hand clutching the bottom of it. He stopped next to Tugg and lifted his head a bit as Tugg raised an unimpressed brow and Michael studied him from afar. He couldn't see much from how far away they were, but Axial appeared to be brandishing a small knife in his other hand. Although Michael couldn’t see his expression, he was positive that Axial was currently indifferent. The voice coming from the red-hooded man startled Michael briefly, “What are we here for, Fügz?” Axial asked dully.

“An offer that you can’t refuse.” Kdin ensured with a wide smile.

“We’ll be the judge of that.” Tugg said with a sly smirk and continued, “Is this something about the Crew that Gavin ran off to join?” Kdin simply nodded which made Michael narrow his eyes. Gavin had been giving outsiders information about them. For that, Gavin would be sentenced to death for betrayal, but somehow he hid it well. Plus, the Brit probably didn’t mean to put their Crew in danger. Michael mentally slapped himself, Gavin told outsiders information and that was that. He shouldn’t be defending him.

Axial tilted his head to the side and the hoodie briefly showed his eyes, but it fell back down. “You want us to join, don’t you?” He asked.

“That is the offer,” Kdin replied. “They’re what you were looking for.”

Tugg shook her head, “We don’t know them.”

“But Gavin and I do. They saved my life and Gavin trusts them fully.”

Tugg turned to Axial and Michael saw her lips move, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. Axial seemed to reply with a simple nod as Tugg smirked and started walking closer to them. Michael frowned and aimed at her, “Stay there!” He warned.

“Or you’ll do what?” Tugg asked, “Shoot me? Do it, I dare you.” She continued to walk up to them as Axial followed her closely.

Michael had a decision to make and he had to do it quickly. Shoot all three of them to make it easier on himself and Ray. Shoot Tugg and Axial and run off with Kdin whether or not she’s honestly with the Fakes. Or get out of there now so he’d still be alive when Ray came back for him. There was no option for letting them live and Michael would make sure of that. But what would the others think of him? What would he even tell them? They all tried to kill him sounded good, but it had too many unanswered questions and he had to have proof. What if Ray needed them? No, they were just in the way of their plan. More people means delayed results and they couldn’t have that. So that meant one thing.

Kill them.

His finger moved to the trigger and he was about to pull it, but he hesitated. Michael was about to shoot Gavin’s best friends and he realized that he couldn’t do that to him, no matter how much it delayed their plans. Their deaths would cause Gavin to close himself off from everybody else and it made Michael feel a twinge of guilt by just thinking about it. Sure, he was supposed to follow orders, but his orders involved gaining their trust and he needed that right about now. One exception couldn’t hurt them, could it?

Sighing, Michael lowered the gun and watched them carefully, “Are you joining or what?” He asked harshly.

“Sure,” Tugg answered simply as Axial nodded in agreement.

Michael huffed and turned to walk back to the car, “Follow me then.” Kdin started heading back as Tugg grinned and happily followed them with Axial in the rear silently walking. Michael shoved his hands into his pockets and kept his head lowered in shame.

Regret was all he felt as he walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you have any questions or anything to say to me or about the story? Comment below~!


	8. A Look Into the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray watches the Fake AH Crew instead of reporting back to Taurus and Geoff approaches him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter, but everyone needed an update on what Ray was doing.

Ray watched. Of course, he watched. It was all he could do in his situation. He was tired of Taurus. He was tired of the White Fang. But most of all, he was tired of the crime industry. He wanted out, he wanted to leave. He wanted a normal life. He wanted a life where he didn't have to run for the rest of his life. Though, he knew. He knew he couldn't escape this life no matter how hard he tried. He knew that quitting wasn't within his reach. He couldn't leave, he was tied to where he was. It wasn't because he was scared to leave. It wasn't because he couldn't leave. It wasn't because of Taurus. It wasn't because he was afraid of running for the rest of his life. It was because he wasn't sure Michael could live on his own with this new Crew he barely knew anything about. Hell, that same Crew were determined to get answers from him, even going to the lengths of torturing him for the truth.

The truth?

Yes, Ray and Michael worked for Taurus. Yes, Taurus made them put their names out there so Geoff would recruit them. Yes, Ray knew that Kdin’s informant was White Fang. He knew that Zed Direction and Dooley Noted already figured it out that the Fakes were monitoring them before any one of them arrived at the club. Yes, Ray lied to Michael about going to the White Fang.

Yes, Ray purposefully made sure that Caleb and Kdin weren't in the building when he set it on fire with his abilities.

Ray’s just lucky it all worked out in the end.

“Ray.” A soft voice called.

Well, almost.

Turning around, Ray came face to face with Geoff and he frowned, readying his hand in case Geoff was going to be hostile towards him. Geoff raised his arms in immediate surrender and spoke softly, “I just want to talk and it's only us two. No one else. Jack’s sleeping.”

“How did you even know I was here?” Ray snapped, keeping the tough guy act up because he wasn't sure how Geoff would react to the truth.

“You're not very inconspicuous.” Geoff said calmly as Ray frowned. “I mean, you're literally right in front of the door of our safe house. You're not really hiding or at least you're not trying to.” After a couple of seconds, Geoff sighed and asked, “What's wrong, Ray?”

“Nothing.” Ray answered instantly, honestly a bit too quickly than he would've liked.

Geoff’s expression softened and slowly approached Ray. Geoff appeared more like a worried father figure than a criminal who got all they wanted and it strangely made Ray want to relax and tell him everything. Unfortunately for Ray, he's wanted to tell Geoff everything from the moment he met him. “You don't have to tell me. I just need to know what you're doing here.”

“Why did you take us in?” Ray asked before he could stop himself. Ray sighed and mentally slapped himself for being so straightforward.

Geoff was taken aback by the sudden question and frowned, “I needed the best of the best and you two were perfect for what I was assembling. I didn't care about your background. I know I needed you two and all I had to do was ask. It really depended on if you said yes or no.”

“It's not because we're Specials?” Ray asked in confusion. He honestly thought that Geoff would take advantage of his and Michael’s abilities.

“I knew you both were Specials the moment I found you. There was no way you two survived this long in this business by just being with Taurus and you're with the White Fang. A gang that only has Specials in it was a huge hint that anyone could've figured out and connected the dots. Plus, have I ever asked you for your abilities before you joined?” Ray shook his head and Geoff smiled, “I didn't care for your innate abilities because you're a Special. I cared for what you could do as a human being. Your abilities are just extra, an attachment that we could use when necessary. But you need to remember, Ray, I don't force people to do anything, I'd much rather make sure you want to do what _you_ want. I don't strike fear into my crewmates because I'm just not that kind of person. And yeah, maybe that's bad for a criminal like me because I need to discipline my soldiers. But you're still as human as me and everybody else. That's what the Corpirate doesn't understand. That's what Taurus doesn't understand. I mean, I'll discipline you, yeah, but not like them. I won't beat you into submission. I won't punish you for disobeying.” Geoff paused and pursed his lips before saying, “I won't brand you.”

Immediately, Ray’s hand shot up to his right shoulder blade and his eyes widened, “How did you…?”

“I know Taurus and how he runs his Crew. How long have you been with him?”

“Eight years.” Ray said quietly.

“How long have you been in the business?”

“Twelve years.”

“Independent for those four years?” Geoff asked Ray nodded. Geoff sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Can I see it?” Ray shook his head quickly and took a couple of steps back. Geoff quickly raised his arms to indicate that he wouldn't hurt him. “Okay, you don't have to. we’ll drop the subject then. That's okay with you right? Dropping the subject?” Ray may have been in the crime industry for a long time, but that doesn't mean that he wasn't young and still a kid.

Ray nodded and dropped his hand from his shoulder, “I'm here because I can't go long without seeing Michael.” Ray said, answering Geoff’s question from earlier. “Both because I'm ensuring he doesn't die and his ability.”

“If you don't mind me asking, what are both of your abilities?” Geoff asked cautiously.

Ray sighed and nodded, “I knew you'd ask eventually. Yes, I'm a fire manipulator and yes, I'm the one who burned the safe house down.”

“Taurus told you to?”

“Yeah,” Ray confirmed. “As for Michael’s ability, he can't smile unless you're willing to die for it. I would stop him, of course.”

“I don't understand.”

“All you need to know is that he’ll go berserk. ‘It's a perfect ability for this business,’ he always said.” Ray shook his head, “Michael just won't quit.”

“Quit what?”

“Being the perfect soldier! He's a fucking kiss ass! It frustrates me so fucking much and it fucking sucks that I can't do shit about it! He follows Taurus without question and expects me to do the same and I'm fucking sick of it. I can't just leave him like this.”

“Why not?”

Ray sighed, “I made a promise to someone very close to us that I'd keep him alive.” Ray ran a hand through his hair, “Michael makes it difficult.”

“You've kept him alive this long. What's stopping you now?”

“My conscience. I knew she wouldn't approve of this if she was here.” Ray said quietly, “I've tried to convince him that she wouldn't want this, but he hates it every time I bring her up.” Ray curled his hands into fists suddenly and grit his teeth. “It's too easy to talk to you. Why? Why am I telling you all of this?”

Sighing, Geoff placed his hands on his hips, “Specials have a tendency to find other Specials and get comfortable. Whether that means Specials can find their soulmate or just find comfort in our own species is entirely up to how you define comfortable. In this case, I believe it's the latter.”

Ray took a couple of steps back and got into a defensive stance, “Are you saying what I think you're saying?”

Geoff nodded almost reluctantly, “Or in other words, I purposefully formed a group of killers who are all Specials. So far anyway.”

“Why?”

“I formed this Crew not only to take Los Santos from our rivals, but for something bigger. We’re in a war, Ray, and I need to know if the people I've brought together is ready for it.”

“What did you start?” Ray asked in fear.

“It's not what you're thinking!” Geoff said quickly and added, “There's someone I know who's keen on destroying Specials, despite being a Special himself. I'm trying to stop his plan, Ray, and I needed help. You're the only person I've told this to. Jack doesn't even know about this.”

“How do I know I can trust you?”

Geoff shook his head, “You don't. Trust me. Don't trust me. It's your decision and I don't want to sway you on accident or on purpose.”

Ray frowned. He was supposed to be finding a way out, not digging himself deeper into the hole he's fallen into. But if Geoff was right and Specials were fighting Specials, then the war will wreak havoc on the Earth. Innocent people will die and it'll be a repeat of the Specialist War where normal people took advantage of Specials and used them as weapons as the world was torn to shreds and millions of people died. It took exactly sixteen years for the war to end and the world was in ruin. Places in the world were destroyed to the point that it was uninhabitable to both Specials and Norms. After the war, a worldwide peace group was formed named the Maxime which translated to ‘special’ in Latin. The group was named after the famous Special hero who stopped the entirety of the war. His name was actually Max Conaway but during the war, he went by Maxime. An average history Special geek of color who traveled the world to learn everything became the world’s hero. He never found out what his ability was until the war. A natural born leader with the ability to strategize and create crazy ideas that people thought were impossible. He also helped rebuild the world until it was peaceful again. Then one day, he disappeared and no one ever knew what happened to him that eventually he was a legend and no one believed he was real anymore. Even records of his existence disappeared and it's a mystery people were still trying to solve.

If Geoff wanted to stop a possible sixteen-year-old war ahead of time so less damage was dealt on the world, Ray couldn't refuse no matter how much he wanted to quit. A lot more shit could happen if he didn't attempt to stop this before it actually happened. “What do you need me to do?” Ray asked.

Geoff smiled, “Stay in the shadows and watch. I need information and for you to help us out. Off the radar, preferably. I'll give you an earpiece, but turn off your mic. We don't want anyone knowing what's happening. Outside and inside the Crew. This will be kept secret, Ray. If any of this gets leaked out, then no one will be prepared and there'll be a repeat of the Specialist War.”

Ray nodded, “Of course, but you have to promise me something.”

“What's that?”

“Once it's all over, I get to leave and you have to take care of Michael. Promise me.”

“I promise.” Geoff said and reached into his pocket to toss an earpiece to him. “Stay safe, kid, and don't get caught.”

“I'll be careful.” Ray promised and walked away as Geoff watched him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eight chapters in and we all just now find out the truth about why Geoff formed the Fakes. Blasphemy! Scandalous!
> 
> Alright, alright, I'll stop. Anyway, the Specialist War just sounds like any other war, but it had superhuman people and it happened in the 1300s. Honestly, it would probably be WWI if it was a real war, but whatever. I don't want to mess with the timeline too much. If you want more information on the Specialist War, then comment below. If not, then whatevs. It probably won't be mentioned any time soon anyway.
> 
> Feel free to comment whatever you want. It can be completely random like potato or something. Idk, it just lets me put names to the random number I see for the hits.


	9. Help Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conversations arise and relationships between others seem to take a turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies, but I haven't had a computer this whole time and I'd much rather post the updates of this story on a computer. Finally, I have a computer, so I can post again. Also, I've been really down lately so my motivation to write has been nothing really. I have no motivation to write currently, but that is always subject to change. Being called names, however, really makes me feel insignificant. Anyway, you didn't come here to read me ramble, so enjoy the chapter.

The Vagabond watched Caleb speak quietly to Gavin and ask him various questions about his wings as the Vagabond sat from across the room and frowned at them. “Something wrong, Vagabond?” Caleb asked quietly, carefully bandaging Gavin’s right wing.

He shook his head in response, “Other than almost getting Gavin killed? No, there's nothing wrong.”

Gavin smiled at the Vagabond, “Aw, it's okay, Vagabond! At least we all got out of it alive!” He beamed happily which made the Vagabond return the smile except the mask covered it. “Where'd Michael go?”

“Him and Kdin went to retrieve the other two, remember?” Caleb asked with a frown.

“Oh yeah,” Gavin replied quietly.

Narrowing his eyes a bit, Caleb moved his hands away from the other’s wings and took a couple steps back. “You sure you're okay, Gavin?” Gavin simply nodded.

The Vagabond didn't look convinced and sighed, turning his attention to the medic. “I have a question for you, Caleb.”

Turning to face the Vagabond, Caleb raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest, “Go on.”

“Did you start the fire?” The Vagabond inquired.

Caleb shook his head, “No, I didn't. Though, I don't believe Brownman did it either. Maybe he did, but if he did, I'd say he was forced to do it.” Uncrossing his arms, Caleb turned and started collecting the medical supplies so he could put it all away neatly. “And I know your next question. Do I think Michael is in cahoots with Brownman?” Caleb closed the case loudly and looked at the Vagabond before continuing. “I do.”

The Vagabond frowned, “Why is it that you know almost everything that's going to happen?”

“Secret fortune teller,” Gavin whispered with an innocent smile as Caleb rolled his eyes and moved to the shelves, putting the case on the top most shelf. “What? It's that or you're a Special.”

Caleb shook his head, “I'm not a Special, I just can read people easily.”

“What if that's your ability?” Gavin questioned with a smug grin.

“Highly unlikely, I would've known well before now if that was the case,” Caleb replied.

The Vagabond pursed his lips, “So you didn't get checked when you were five?” He asked and watched Caleb tense slightly before relaxing and shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Caleb sighed, “I didn't really have someone to take me to a Specialist and I couldn't just walk in to find out. Plus, I didn't live in the South where I'm obligated to be checked if I had abilities or not. At the time, I didn't have any money to support my brother much less myself.”

“Oh…” The Vagabond said quietly, “I'm sorry.”

The other shook his head and waved away his concern, “It's fine, you didn't know and it's all in the past. I don't worry about that stuff anymore.”

“Where's your brother?” Gavin asked suddenly and the Vagabond swiftly turned his head in his direction. Blinking, Gavin slightly moved away from Caleb almost like he was afraid that the other would hit him. “I'm sorry, I'll shut up.”

Caleb sighed, “It's fine, Gavin. He's… He's uh in college last time I checked. That was six years ago. I haven't seen him since.”

“You stole to pay for his college.” The Vagabond stated.

“No, I killed for people to get paid.” Caleb corrected and looked down at his feet with a slight frown, almost like he regretted everything he ever did as a criminal. “They paid more than what I could steal in a week.”

“Mercenary.” The Vagabond said and sighed, “How old were you when you started?”

Caleb lifted his head and watched the Vagabond carefully before answering reluctantly. “Twelve. No one expected a kid asking for food to slit their throat after they've been so kind to them, but I guess that's Los Santos for you.”

“You're not planning something against us, are you?” The Vagabond asked with a raised brow and narrowed his eyes at Caleb.

Caleb shook his head, “I told you, I haven't been Ultimate in four years. I haven't killed anyone in over four years, I never needed to.”

“Until now,” Gavin said quietly as Caleb frowned.

“What?”

“You're thinking of joining this Crew officially, aren't you?” Gavin asked, lifting his head up to look at him directly.

Caleb sighed, “Yes, I am. Once I heard about the Fake AH Crew, I had to join. I don't plan on killing anyone, though. I'm only here to keep you guys alive and considering what's happened lately, you'll need me.”

The Vagabond nodded, “You said that I'd determine that you would keep us all alive and I do. I have. What else do you know?” Caleb shrugged.

“I think you need to visit a Specialist, lad.” Gavin said, “They’ll know if you're one or not because it surely sounds like you are one.”

Caleb shook his head, “It's not worth it. Do you know how many people would kill me for just being marked as a Special especially in this business?”

“Yes,” Gavin said solemnly, lowering his head and keeping his eyes trained on the ground. “I know very well how many people would kill me for just being a Special.” The Vagabond stood from his chair and walked over to them as Caleb just watched Gavin apologetically.

“Gavin.” The Vagabond called quietly.

The aforementioned shook his head and sighed, spreading his wings out slightly not even bothering to hide his wince. “I don't care anymore honestly. Everything anyone could have said to me has been said to me during high school and once I left, I've never been bothered by any negativity. I didn't get used to it, I just realized that it's just harmless words. It took--” Gavin stopped suddenly and his breath hitched, his head lowered more and he closed his eyes. “Not again…” He said quietly and abruptly stood up, tucking his wings close and quickly walking out of the room as the Vagabond and Caleb watched him silently.

Once he disappeared into the hallway, the Vagabond turned to Caleb who was avoiding eye contact. “It's not your fault.”

“Don't patronize me,” Caleb replied and sat down where Gavin was, dropping his head in his hands and shaking his head.

“I'm not.” The Vagabond deadpanned and frowned, walking over to Caleb and placing a hand on the other's shoulder as he crouched next to the medic. “It's Gavin, he won't hate you.”

Caleb laughed dryly, “No, but if Gavin gives me a bad name to Geoff, it'll be bad.”

“You really do want to stay in the Crew, don't you?” The Vagabond asked softly as Caleb nodded and stood just as quickly as Gavin did. He took a few steps forward and clenched his left hand into a fist as the Vagabond worriedly watched him and slowly stood.

Caleb kept his back facing the Vagabond and spoke quietly, “I thought I could run away from crime. I thought I could leave it all behind me. But every turn I took, every newspaper I read, every time I passed a police officer… I always felt the urge to turn back, to go back, to kill. I had to be back in the field somehow and this is the closest I can get. I'll keep you all alive and I'll kill for you if need be, but I just need to be…sure that I don't break one day because if I don't stay here, I might just go berserk and that means I won't ever see my brother again. He may not approve, but at least he stays safe.”

The Vagabond listened silently and nodded when he was done, sauntering over to the medic’s side and placing a comforting hand on the other’s shoulder. “I'll make sure you see your brother again.” The Vagabond promised. “I give you my word.”

Caleb chuckled dryly, “How trustworthy is your word?” The Vagabond was about to frown and actually be offended, but when Caleb turned and smiled a sincere smile the assassin knew that he wasn't being serious.

“I'm quite offended you would ask such a thing.” The Vagabond laughed as Caleb’s smile grew a bit.

Before the Vagabond could continue, Geoff practically marched in as Jack trailed behind him with a couple of files in her hands which she was currently reading through. “Alright dickheads, I've got news for you once Kdin and Michael are back with or without our new additions.” Geoff spoke quickly and looked around, “Which reminds me, those two were supposed to arrive right about now. Where are they?” The other two shrugged and Geoff rubbed the bridge of his nose, sighing. “Okay, Vagabond call them and make sure they're not dead. Caleb, get Gavin wherever he is.”

Caleb was about to scurry over to Gavin’s room, but the Vagabond tugged him lightly and the medic looked at him curiously. “I think it'd be better if I check up on Gavin.” Caleb studied the Vagabond and nodded shortly after. The Vagabond turned to leave, but Caleb called his name.

“Y’know, it's hard to take advice from you when you're wearing your mask all of the time,” Caleb said with a smile.

The Vagabond chuckled, “In due time, Caleb, my trust in you will secure itself.”

Caleb rolled his eyes, “Whatever. Just go get Gavin.” The Vagabond hurried to Gavin’s room and lightly knocked on the door.

The Vagabond heard a quiet but annoyed “What?” through the door and he sighed.

“Gavin, Geoff needs us all.” The Vagabond replied and waited patiently for a reply, but the door opened seconds later and the Vagabond smiled as they both walked back to the main room.

“Michael said he’ll be here in approximately five minutes,” Caleb informed Geoff as the two walked in. “In the meantime, he wants us to prepare for our newcomers.”

“Are they okay?” Geoff asked as Caleb nodded.

“No one’s hurt, but Michael’s skeptical.”

“Why is he skeptical?” Jack asked with a frown.

Caleb shrugged halfheartedly, “He’d much rather tell you in person.”

Geoff sighed and nodded, “Okay, we wait for them. Caleb, is Gavin okay?”

The medic looked at the bird hybrid and sighed when he averted his eyes, “Yeah, he's fine. Physically anyway.” He muttered the last part under his breath.

“What was that?” Geoff demanded.

“I said physically. His wing should heal up in a week or two.” Caleb repeated louder as Geoff and Jack exchanged unsure looks.

Geoff frowned and turned to Gavin, “Did Zed or Dooley say something to you?” Gavin just shook his head silently as Geoff narrowed his eyes at him. “Why are you giving me the silent treatment then?” Gavin kept silent as Geoff stomped to the other side of the room and grumbled, “I'll teach them a lesson.” A hand wrapped around his upper arm and pulled him away from the phone as Geoff stopped and worriedly looked at Gavin who kept his head lowered. “What'd they do?”

“Nothing,” Gavin answered quietly.

“Then why is Caleb only saying physically?” Geoff questioned with knitted eyebrows.

“I just realized something. That's it, it's no one’s fault.” Gavin said quietly, but Jack watched him curiously. She wasn't convinced at all. “No one’s, but my own.”

“Gavin?” Jack called softly as the Brit lifted his head a bit to look at her. She motioned with her head to follow, “Can I talk to you for a second?” Silently, Gavin nodded and followed Jack who disappeared into the hallway.

“What happened?” Geoff demanded of the remaining two as they exchanged unsure looks and made a silent agreement to stay quiet. Geoff frowned at their silence and crossed his arms over his chest. “Obviously something happened and if you know something about it, you better spill.”

The Vagabond shrugged, “We don't know and even if we did,”

“It’s honestly not for us to say.” Caleb finished as Geoff glared at them. Caleb raised his hands in defense, “I'm not Gavin. If you want an answer, he’ll tell you.”

Then, the front door opened and Michael pushed it open, allowing the other three to enter the safehouse. “Stay in this room and we’ll brief you soon. Don't leave unless you want to get shot.”

The Vagabond saw a red hooded man nod and a red haired woman smile widely. The Vagabond assumed the two newcomers were Axial and Tugg Life. “We’ll make sure to stay like dogs, Mogar.” The woman replied, chuckling as Michael frowned and slammed the door closed.

“Where's Gavin?” Michael asked, looking at each of them.

“Talking to Jack.” The Vagabond answered dryly. “Why?”

“I need to talk to him.”

“Leave Gavin alone, for now, he needs space,” Geoff ordered as Axial and Kdin exchanged looks and Tugg approached Geoff angrily. “Problem?”

Tugg narrowed her eyes, “Yeah, what'd you do to Gavin? I thought you don't hurt your own men, Ramsey. What kind of product are you trying to sell here?”

“I'm creating a team, Tugg. What we do as a team is up to all of us. Regarding Gavin’s current condition, we don't know yet. My second-in-command is trying to find that out.” Geoff said calmly.

Tugg’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. She frowned, “Right now?”

“Right now,” Geoff confirmed.

Tugg huffed, “May I have a talk with him afterward?” Geoff nodded as Tugg smiled a small smile. “Thanks, so…” She plopped onto the couch and looked back at Geoff with a wide smile. “What's the gameplan, Ramsey?”

“You have to be committed because the moment you agree, you can't leave unless you want to be silenced for the rest of your life.” Geoff reminded them as Axial turned to Tugg silently telling her to agree.

Tugg looked at Axial and the two seemed to have a mental conversation before Tugg faced Geoff and nodded, “We’ll agree to your terms and conditions, Ramsey, but I have one request.” Geoff raised a brow as Tugg continued, “I want to help plan out whatever you're heisting.”

Geoff clenched his jaw, “If everyone else is okay with that then sure.” He said almost reluctantly.

Tugg slouched on the couch and smiled, “We’ll join you bunch of yahoos. The name’s Lindsay by the way.”

“Matt,” Axial said immediately right after and pulled off his hood which revealed a pair of headphones.

“I'm Geoff. That's Michael, the Vagabond, and Caleb. Jack’s my second-in-command and Gavin, you already know. We have one more member, Ray, who is currently with the White Fang, our ally. We’re going to--”

Lindsay raised a hand and frowned, “Wait, did you say White Fang? And did you say ‘our ally’?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“No, other than the fact that the White Fang are ruthless killers and will most likely betray us the moment we turn our backs to them. I have absolutely _no_ problem with them.” Lindsay said sarcastically.

“It's a temporary alliance. We know what we’re getting into and it was a hard decision, but it was necessary.” Geoff informed.

“Why? It's not worth it to go on a suicide mission with people who’ll get you killed to save themselves.” Matt added.

“We have a common enemy.”

“Of course we do. Every gang out there hates him.” She said knowingly. “The Corpirate is a bitch, but we shouldn't put our lives in liar’s hands to take down a superpower.” Lindsay pointed out but sighed soon after. “It's your decision, though. I'm highly against it, but if you think we can pull it off I say we give it a try.”

“Agreed.” Matt said and added, “But the moment we even suspect the White Fang of attempting to kill our own, we’re out. The temporary alliance between us and the White Fang will be gone.”

“Of course.” Geoff said, “I care about my men’s lives no matter how new you are to the Crew. This is my Crew and I'm responsible for each one of you dickheads. This is why I'm meeting with Taurus myself and no one is coming with me. No backup, no extra hands, and no guns. Nothing. If I don't come back in a day, it means I'm dead or missing. Check in with me _before_ you start killing White Fang.”

“Sure thing, boss,” Lindsay said with a mock salute.

While they continued to talk, Michael slipped into the hallway as Caleb was about to follow, but the Vagabond sighed and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder to slightly pull him away causing Caleb to look at him with a questioning brow. The Vagabond shook his head and left to follow after Michael silently. “Michael…” The Vagabond said quietly as the aforementioned turned with a frown.

“What?” He asked, crossing his arms.

“We all need to be debriefed.” The Vagabond answered flatly.

The other’s frown became more apparent, “Gavin isn't there and he needs to know what's happening too.”

“Gavin’s not on the battlefield and never will be, you know that Geoff would never risk anyone’s life if he knows the possibility of them dying is more than twenty percent.”

“Oh, but he’ll throw us into battle and get _us_ killed?” Michael asked, referring to the rest of them.

“What is your problem?” The Vagabond inquired intensely.

“Everything about how this gang runs,” Michael answered instantly.

“Really?” The Vagabond asked disbelievingly and scoffed, “Would you like to take over for Geoff and tell us how _you_ would defeat the Corpirate with every single detail from what we’re each doing down to what clothes we should wear?”

Michael scowled, “No, but he's ass at being a leader, Vagabond, and you know it.”

“I don't know it. At least Geoff treats us better than how the Corpirate handles his men. Hell, even Taurus abuses his men no matter how obedient they are. Geoff doesn't believe fear should be worked into people’s hearts to get them to do something he wants. He wants his men to do what he wants if they want to do it themselves. If they don't want to do it, he’ll understand and do it himself. It's why he's meeting Taurus alone, he doesn't want anyone killed.” The Vagabond explained easily as Michael watched him.

“That doesn't give him the right to be an asshole to Ray.”

“He wasn't!” The Vagabond exclaimed a little too loudly. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, lowering his voice. “Look, Michael, if you don't like what Geoff’s doing you can always leave, but then that means there's a target on your back and _everyone_ will know. Geoff will make sure any information you know won’t be leaked and the Corpirate _will_ find you because you have all the information he needs to take us down.”

A switch seemed to flip in Michael’s head because the anger immediately left him and he spoke quietly, “I'm not leaving, this is too important.”

“Then why are you fighting this? It's stupid!” The Vagabond replied as Michael shook his head.

A door down the hall opened and the two looked over curiously as Jack and Gavin walked out. Jack walked by them and acknowledged them with a nod before turning the corner. Gavin walked up to them and stopped, “I want you to answer honestly, Michael.” Michael exchanged an unsure look with the Vagabond who only shrugged.

“Uh… um okay?” Michael said.

Taking a deep breath, Gavin calmly asked, “Why don't you smile?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like it? Comment, if you want.


	10. Identify

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb and Kdin have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a treat, have a surprise chapter.

_Michael had always wondered why his mother told him not to smile, that it was wrong to smile. Why? He always asked himself, never out loud. Everyone else smiled like they were all born to. Though he did what he was told and didn’t, his dad really helped on the not smiling part. He would come home drunk and every time he did, Michael would be afraid and run up to his room to get away from his father. The evening was the only time that his mom had to leave for work and those were the days that the redhead had wished that he was never born into this family, but his mother was one of the only people keeping him sane and he hated it when she left, always thinking that she would leave him forever. Luckily, she didn’t and he was thankful for that and remembered every single day not to smile. But, it was pretty hard not to smile when your drunkard father had gotten a taste of his own medicine._

_The redhead sat on his windowsill, one leg propped up as his arm lay on his knee and his head against the wall, staring outside and watching the various light shows of the stop lights. His phone rang about an hour after his mom left for work and his dad hadn’t come home yet, probably at his friend’s house getting wasted. He waited a while, then answered, “What do you want?”_

_“_ Michael? _” It was his mom. “_ Michael, call Ray and tell him to come over. _” She sounded solemn like there was something wrong. “_ Your dad’s going to be a little late. _”_

_“Good, I can actually be alone for once.”_

_“_ Don’t act like that, he is your father. Now call Ray, I need to go. _” She hung up and Michael could hear sirens on the other line before she hung up. She worked at the hospital, yeah, but it was rare if she ever went in an ambulance after what happened last time._

_He looked through his contacts and tapped on Ray’s ID, it rang once and was answered quickly, “_ Yo. _” Ray simply said._

_Michael wasn’t surprised at the quick answer, they were the closest of friends after all. “Hey, uh, Ray, could you, um, possibly come over to my house? If you’re free, that is.” He added quickly._

_“_ Dude, it’s summer, of course, I'm free. I’ll be over in about fifteen minutes. _” Michael heard shuffling on the other line. “_ Oh, and Michael? _”_

_“Yea?”_

_“_ Remember not to smile. _” Ray reminded him as he hung up without saying goodbye. Michael stared at his phone for a good long minute. Ray never reminded him not to smile, sure he knew about the concept and why he shouldn't, but he never reminded him not to. When he didn’t remind him, it almost seemed like he was encouraging Michael to smile just so he could see what smiling really was. To be honest, Michael didn’t understand what smiling really meant and for some reason he felt as if he was going to learn very soon._

_Ray arrived, breathing heavy and saying that there had been an accident._

To this day, Michael was haunted by his Special ability and never wanted to use it even if it could be used to give them an advantage on the battlefield.

“Michael?” Gavin called quietly with hopeful eyes.

The aforementioned shook his head and sighed, “I'm sorry Gav… I just--I can't. But one of these days, Gavin, I promise, I'll tell you.”

“I'll hold you to that promise.” Gavin walked away as Michael watched him leave and frowned.

Would either of them even live long enough for Michael to explain himself? Of course, because he would protect Gavin. He wanted to. No matter what his orders were. No matter what Ray said. No matter if he'd be killed for insubordination. He’ll make sure no one stopped him from protecting the other.

Michael shook his head suddenly as the Vagabond gave him a weird look. What was wrong with him?

°~∆∆∆~°

Caleb was skeptical. He was always skeptical of people, but Ray and Michael? He knew something was off about them the moment he saw them. He always felt the need to protect everyone else from them that's why he was instantly at Kdin’s side whenever Ray or Michael was out of his sight. It's why he watched them so closely and it's why he was relieved that Ray had left. But he honestly thought that someone was forcing them to do it. Someone was pulling their strings and Caleb was determined to find out who.

“Why are you constantly watching me?” Michael asked, annoyed and crossed his arms with an angry frown as Caleb pursed his lips. Lie or tell the truth?

Lie, of course.

“I needed fresh air, jeez. What's got you all riled up?” Caleb asked casually so Michael wouldn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary.

Michael didn't look convinced however and uncrossed his arms, “I have a problem with people constantly examining my every action for no absolute reason.”

“You watch me.” Caleb countered as Michael narrowed his eyes.

“That's different, Geoff told me to watch you.”

Caleb scoffed, “I guess you take orders well without hesitation. Did you learn that from just following Ray around like an obedient dog?”

Michael gritted his teeth, “No.” He said angrily.

“Right and--”

“Michael! Caleb!” Gavin called cheerily as the two looked over. It's been a couple of days and Gavin was already his usual self, but then again their two newest members and Kdin probably helped with that. He motioned them inside, “Geoff has very important news!” He hurried inside as Michael and Caleb exchanged looks before following the bird hybrid.

They entered the main room and turned to Geoff who cleared his throat as the Vagabond walked in and leaned on the door frame, crossing his arms. “Is everyone here?” He asked, looking at each of them and smiling when he saw everyone’s faces. Geoff looked at Michael as the medic narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “Alright, Taurus has agreed that you can see Ray.” _Son of a bitch_ , Caleb thought bitterly. Of course, Michael would request to see him.

“Really?” Michael asked hopefully as Geoff silently nodded. “When?”

“Today in the park at six pm that's in two hours,” Geoff answered and raised his hand before Michael could shoot out even more questions at him. “We’re taking this opportunity to receive information from him. This is not a reunion of friends. Can you handle that, Michael?”

“Of course.” He said, slightly offended that Geoff had to even ask.

“Good, but you're going to need backup in case it gets hairy. Vagabond and Caleb, you two are accompanying him there while Jack, Lindsay and I finish up planning our part of the heist. Kdin, Matt, and Gavin, you three will continue to find replacements for Zed Direction and Dooley Noted because I doubt they'd be willing to cooperate with us after our first and hopefully, last encounter. Gavin, you're still injured so you won't be recruiting anyone. Matt, you'll be the one recruiting for now. Everyone clear on what they're doing?” Geoff earned nods and he smiled, clapping his hands together. “Let's get to work then.” Jack and Lindsay followed Geoff into his office, closing the door behind them.

Kdin pushed her glasses up and nudged Caleb who looked at her with a raised brow, “I'm surprised you're going out in the field usually you'd be staying here.”

“I'm willing to be Ultimate again for this Crew,” Caleb answered honestly and Kdin watched him in surprise as Michael walked over to Gavin and started lightly chatting with him.

“Really?” Kdin exasperated quietly.

“Yeah…” Caleb said quietly and clenched his hands, watching Michael carefully.

Kdin followed the other’s gaze and frowned, “You okay?” She asked cautiously. “You seem to be giving Michael the death glare.”

Caleb shook his head in dismissal, “It doesn't matter.” He turned to leave, but Kdin gently grabbed his shoulder and tugged him back.

“It matters if it bothers you that much,” Kdin said and quickly took a look around them, taking Caleb’s hand and pulling him away into a place in the safe house that anyone rarely went to. She released his hand as Caleb frowned slightly. “What do you know about Michael?”

“He's with Ray. I don't know how and I don't know why, but I can just feel that they're planning something against us.” Caleb answered and huffed, “You probably think I'm trying to get rid of them.”

She shook her head, “Not at all. I think you're reasonably questioning people, but I'm not saying you're correct or that you’re wrong. I know almost everyone here. I know who they are now and who they were before. Remember, only what's in the files.” Kdin reminded him quickly before he could say anything. “The only person I know nothing about is the Vagabond. There's no record of the Vagabond’s previous life, unfortunately, but we can trust him based on his loyalty to this Crew. I would say I know absolutely zero about Zed Direction and Dooley Noted, but they didn't particularly take the offer to join the Crew so they don't count.” She sighed suddenly which made Caleb frown and furrow his brows, “I do know you, though. You didn't bother to delete anything or hide anything in your previous life. It's all set in stone.”

Caleb sighed, “What's the point of hiding and deleting it? It's just going to bite me in the ass later on. What _do_ you know about me? Like specifically?”

Kdin shrugged, “Well, you've lived on the streets most of your life. You were caught stealing a couple of times before you moved onto murder. You have a brother and sister who are both--”

“Anything else?” Caleb cut in abruptly as Kdin blinked at him in mild surprise before nodding and continuing.

“You're non-binary, specifically agender,” Kdin said with a small smile.

Caleb sighed sadly and looked away from her, running a hand through their hair. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?” She asked knowingly. She knew what they were talking about, she just wanted to hear them say it.

“How do you have the courage to be so… Open about it? I can imagine you correct people all the time. No offense.” Caleb said quietly as Kdin’s smile grew.

She placed a comforting hand on their shoulder, “None taken. I may have been born a male and clearly look like one, but I correct people because they should see me for me. But, I don't really care if they get my pronouns wrong because again, they should see me for me. Hell, I'm surprised everyone has gotten my gender correct ever since I got here. You should tell them.”

They shook their head, “I can't. They won't understand.”

Kdin frowned, “What makes you say that?”

“They're all criminals! You think they'd care about something as minor as this?” Caleb exasperated and covered their face with their hands as Kdin pulled the other into a tight hug and her frown became more apparent when they tensed.

“If they didn't care, they'd all be using the wrong pronouns for me. So what if they're criminals? That doesn't mean they won't support you for who you are.” Kdin said quietly. “It's not minor. You're agender, they have to respect that. Please don't assume that no one would support you because they're criminals.”

Caleb visibly relaxed in Kdin’s arms while she spoke as she smiled. They pulled away from the hug and looked at her, “I don't know how to tell them.”

Smiling, Kdin was looking behind them, “You might not have to.” She pointed behind them as they turned around and gasped.

Geoff smiled at them, “So, why didn't you tell us you were agender?”

Caleb was close to tears, but they refused to cry especially in front of Geoff. “I didn't think it was important.”

Geoff sighed and shook his head, walking closer to Caleb and resting a supportive hand on their shoulder. “It's a part of you, isn't it?” Caleb nodded wordlessly. “Then it's important. What are your pronouns?” Geoff asked softly.

Caleb blinked in disbelief at Geoff who was smiling at them. “It's not really--”

“If you finish that sentence with important then I'm about to blow a gasket. I wouldn't be asking if I didn't care, Caleb.” Geoff replied.

Sighing in defeat, Caleb answered barely above a whisper, “I… I prefer they or them… Please.”

Geoff’s smile grew, “Okay, I'll make sure to tell the others.” Geoff started to turn, but Caleb shot out a hand to stop him and made a noise of disapproval. “What?” Geoff inquired quietly.

Caleb shook their head and looked down at their feet, “I don't want them to know. It'll be too much of a hassle for everyone.” Caleb squeaked out.

“If they don't support you then they can leave the Crew. And it's not a hassle for anyone, trust me.” Geoff assured as Caleb just shook their head again. Sighing, Geoff fully turned to face Caleb, “Answer me honestly, Caleb, does it make you happy when people use the right pronouns for you?”

They lifted their head a bit but didn't look at Geoff. “Yes…” They admitted softly. “It helps me remember that I'm not different than other people. That I'm still as human as you and everyone else.”

Geoff nodded, “Then I'll tell everyone so that they can all get it right for you. Everyone considers Kdin a girl, don't they? Never once have I ever heard someone in this Crew slip up her pronouns. Have you?” Geoff asked, shifting his gaze to Kdin who shook her head.

“Not once,” Kdin confirmed. “We’ll support you, Caleb.”

Lifting their head so they could look Geoff directly, Caleb nodded slowly, “Okay.” They said. “You can tell them.”

“You don't want to do it yourself?” Geoff inquired softly.

“No, I'd just like to prepare before the Vagabond, Michael, and I head out.”

Geoff nodded, “Okay, make sure to take care of those two. Last time they worked together, they got caught.”

“Always,” Caleb promised.

Geoff smiled and looked at Kdin, slightly pointing at Caleb. “Watch over Caleb, okay?” Geoff turned to leave, “I wouldn't want them to be uncomfortable in this place.” An audible gasp was heard and Caleb covered their mouth to stop any other noise from escaping as Geoff smiled and walked away.

“You got it, boss,” Kdin said with a smile and looked at Caleb who appeared that they were about ready to cry. “Hey, it's okay.”

“Tears of joy, Kdin,” Caleb said, chuckling and wiping away small tears.

“Of course, cry all the joy you want. You've achieved something today, Caleb.”

“What's that?”

“You've faced your fears, Caleb. You've achieved courage.” Kdin said simply with a smile.

About an hour later, Caleb was walking past Gavin and Matt talking about Gavin’s injured wing and heard one of them say their name then use the correct pronouns for them. Caleb hurried into the kitchen to get something cold to drink and refused to cry then and there. They were finally getting something they wanted after so many years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I did this justice, but then again, I'm agender myself, so this is loosely based off of my own experiences.


	11. Help Wanted II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael, Caleb, and the Vagabond meet up with Ray. Later on, conflicts arise.

Caleb and Michael walked through the park silently as the Vagabond shifted his position from atop a building and looked down the scope to watch them. “ _How's it going, guys?_ ” The Vagabond asked suddenly as Caleb shoved their hands into their pockets and turned to Michael silently waiting for him to answer.

Michael sighed and stopped next to a tree sitting down and leaning on it as Caleb stopped next to him and watched him quietly. Michael put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, “Well, considering we arrived ten minutes early, we dicked around for those ten extra minutes, and Ray’s always punctual, he’ll be here in exactly three, two, one…”

“You know me too well, Michael.” Caleb looked up and saw Ray standing there with his arms crossed and watching them expectantly with a raised brow. “I'm not sure if that's good or not.”

“New glasses?” Michael asked, not even opening his eyes to look.

“How'd you know?” Ray asked sarcastically and smirked. “I think you should stop putting the Vagabond as back up, he's bound to get someone killed one of these days.” Caleb stared at him in shock as Ray continued, “I mean come on! First, he allows Mr. ‘I'm going to make Ray’s life difficult’ here join the Crew.” He pointed at Caleb who glowered at him. “Next, he gets Michael captured by my boss.” At this point, Michael was sitting up and listening to Ray. “Then, he gets Gavin captured as well by a bunch of professional torturers. Why in the fuck is Geoff still trusting him with a weapon?”

“ _Let me shoot him._ ” The Vagabond replied.

“Torturers?” Michael asked with a raised brow. “You mean to tell us that--”

Ray nodded, “Yup, Zed Direction and Dooley Noted torture people for a living to get information for their employers and they get paid for it. I'm surprised Gavin came out unscathed. Well, I mean, his injured wing doesn't count that was mostly his own fault.”

“How do you know all of these things? Have you been spying on us?” Caleb inquired with a frown.

Tilting his head a bit, Ray raised a brow, “Seriously, you're all clueless sometimes.” Ray pointed at his ear and said simply, “Taurus still has Michael’s earpiece and Zed probably has Gavin’s too. All the small assignments you've been doing lately, yeah, Taurus heard every single word and most likely Zed has too if he's listening in right now.”

“Why are you giving us this information?” Caleb asked curiously. Ray was the enemy after all but they weren't sure anymore if Michael was truly with him. They didn't want to act on feeling alone, but then again they were usually correct.

Ray shrugged, “That's what you wanted right? You wanted information, so I'm here to give you some.” Ray’s eyes landed on Michael, “Edison made the lightbulb, so let's switch it off and see with our own eyes.” Michael nodded and reached for his earpiece, turning off the mic and motioning for Caleb to do the same. Frowning, Caleb shook their head and pointed behind them, referring to the Vagabond who wouldn't be able to hear them if they turned off their mics.

Michael turned on the mic, “Vagabond, are we clear?” Michael asked and waited a while, sighing when the Vagabond didn't answer.

Michael sighed and stood, looking at the building the Vagabond was atop and saw the sniper shine. He pointed at his ear and shook his head as the Vagabond understood easily, “ _You're clear._ ” Michael turned off his mic.

Sighing, Caleb switched off their mic and turned to Michael and Ray. Michael spoke quietly, “So how's the White Fang this time of year, Ray?”

“Like always, painful. Brutal. Ruthless. Any other adjectives along those lines work too.” Ray answered with a smile.

“So Taurus can really hear us? And Zed too?” Caleb asked worriedly as Ray nodded.

“Unfortunately yes and I am here to help you guys get out of this mess. Of course, I have to be careful and make sure that Taurus doesn't suspect anything. Though, I'd be more worried about Zed and Dooley. They're a wildcard in this and no one knows if they're working for anyone or if they're even planning something against any of us. I'll try to find out though. I'll make sure to relay any information to Fügz so that you're all up to date. As for Taurus, go along with your missions. He only listens in to what happens on the comms.” Ray explained quickly as Caleb frowned.

“He doesn't trust us,” Caleb said.

“Well duh, do you trust him?” Ray asked rhetorically as Caleb stayed silent. “I didn't think so. I'm on your side, promise. Geoff can count on me so that Taurus won't get the jump on you.” Ray assured, but Caleb didn't feel like he was telling the complete truth. Ray was a criminal after all, he could be lying about everything he just said.

Caleb cleared their thoughts and nodded, “We’ll make sure to tell Geoff then.”

Michael agreed, “We should head back now.” Michael and Caleb turned to leave, but Ray called their names and they looked back to him.

“If I'm compromised, don't listen to me. Even if you think you can get me back.” Ray informed solemnly. “Don't make a decision you know you'll regret. See ya, guys.” Ray held up two fingers and curled them twice as Michael did the same soon after which made Caleb blink and look between them. Smiling, Ray shoved his hands into his pockets and strolled away as Caleb watched him leave.

“That wasn't very informational,” Caleb commented and turned on his earpiece.

“Nope, we got all the information we needed. You don't know the secret language of the Ray.” Michael said and switched on his mic, “Time to go, Vagabond. Geoff has to hear this information.”

“ _Got it, want me to pick you guys up?_ ” The Vagabond asked as Michael stretched and yawned.

“Nah, we’ll come to you,” Michael said and started walking in the direction of the Vagabond as Caleb hurried after him.

“So what'd you conclude?” Caleb asked curiously and looked behind them. Ray wasn't in sight anymore.

Michael shook his head, “Not here.”

Caleb frowned, “That bad?” Michael stayed silent and kept his eyes forward as Caleb got the message staying quiet the rest of the way to their escape vehicle that the Vagabond was already in. Caleb got in the back and quietly watched Michael who was currently looking out the window blankly.

“Anything important?” The Vagabond asked after a while, trying to start a conversation to lessen the obvious tension in the car.

“I'm not sure,” Caleb answered as Michael continued his silence.

The Vagabond frowned and glanced at Michael, “Did you at least find something out?” Michael simply nodded and the Vagabond left the rest of the conversation up in the air as Caleb decided against saying something. Honestly, they didn't know what to say without either getting Michael angry or upset.

They arrived at the safe house and they all got out as Michael shoved his hands in his pockets and walked ahead of them. Caleb gave the Vagabond an unsure look and frowned when the Vagabond just waved away his concern. “Does everyone know something I don't?” Caleb exasperated and watched the Vagabond and Michael enter the safe house not even bothering to answer them. Sighing, Caleb followed after them and closed the door behind them turning around to see almost everyone staring at them. “Uh…” Caleb uttered in confusion, “Why are you all staring at me like that?” They looked at each of their faces. Most of them had apathy plastered on their faces, but the rest had a look of dread across their features. One face stood out to them, though.

Kdin.

Kdin averted her gaze and sighed, “Caleb, I'm sorry.”

“Why?” Caleb asked worriedly. “What happened?” They looked around and counted how many people were there. Okay, Gavin wasn’t there, but then again they ordered for him to sleep before they left and he did trudge into his room reluctantly. They bit their lip enough to make it hurt. Okay, they weren't dreaming or dead. They overlooked everyone and scanned them all for injuries. None of them appeared hurt. They just all stared at them like they had seen them die. Their gaze landed on Kdin, “Kdin, what are you saying sorry for?”

Kdin shook her head and stared down at her lap, “I didn't mean to…” She trailed off.

Caleb took a step forward, “Kdin, what did you do?” She only shook her head. They were going to take another step in Kdin’s direction, but a hand was placed on their shoulder and they looked behind them. “Geoff, what is she talking about? Why are all of them looking at me? What happened?” They wanted answers and they knew that Geoff would provide the answers.

Geoff pursed his lips and sighed soon afterward, moving his arm to his side. “Caleb, why didn't you tell us?”

“Tell you what? I don't know what you're talking about!” Caleb exclaimed and turned to the others as well, their eyes landing on Kdin again. “Kdin, please answer me. What happened?”

Kdin lifted her head to stare at them and looked at Geoff briefly before answering quietly, “I didn't mean to tell them. I-it just slipped out! I just--I made a mistake, Caleb, and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…” Caleb waited impatiently for Kdin to continue and eventually she did. She made eye contact with them, “I told them about your brother and sister.” Caleb’s eyes widened and they froze for a couple of seconds, staring at Kdin in shock.

In a split second, Caleb’s expression turned angry and they practically lunged towards Kdin who quickly stood up from her chair and moved away from Caleb as Geoff, Matt, and Lindsay quickly grabbed them and stopped them from attacking her. “You said you wouldn't out anyone! You lied to me!”

“Caleb, calm down!” Geoff ordered, but they wouldn't stop struggling against the three’s grips. “She made a mistake, we all do.”

“This is different! She _knew!_! How could you?” They almost yelled. “You said that you'd keep it secret! What else will you say? Will you out someone else?” Michael shifted uncomfortably. “What else will you tell them? Will you tell everyone the abilities that people here may or may not have? You seem to know everything, so why don't you just inform us?” Caleb snapped angrily as Kdin just watched them sadly.

When they tried to take another step forward, Geoff tugged Caleb away and moved in front of them as Lindsay and Matt took hold of their arms. “Listen to me, Caleb! She made a mistake, now stop fighting and let me talk to you properly.”

Caleb shook their head and attempted to pull their arm free from Lindsay’s grip but failed. “She has no right!”

“No, I don't and I'm sorry,” Kdin said quietly.

“I don't give a shit about your fucking empty apologies!” Caleb shouted and quickly got out of Matt’s grip by elbowing him in the stomach. Matt’s grip loosened ever so slightly and Caleb pushed him away as Lindsay hurriedly shoved them to the ground and pinned them. “Get the fuck off of me!”

“The only one allowed to kick Kdin’s ass is me, so I suggest you take a big deep breath and calm the fuck down before a group of trained killers have to stop you from killing one of our own,” Lindsay said calmly.

“Killing me involves killing one of our own.” Caleb snapped harshly as Lindsay clenched her jaw.

“I'm not afraid to kill you, no matter your connections.”

“You should.” Caleb nearly growled.

“Does someone mind filling me in?” For a brief moment, the anger in Caleb’s eyes subsided and they looked behind Lindsay to see who had walked in. It was Gavin. Everyone froze and Lindsay was about to say something, but the anger quickly came back and Caleb pushed Lindsay off roughly and jumped onto Kdin who had little time to react. “Kdin!” Gavin shouted. Caleb readied to punch Kdin, but their arm locked up suddenly and a burst of pain shot through their arm. It felt like their bones were being crushed and their blood seemed to boil at the same time. Gasping and shouting in pain, Caleb clutched their arm close and rolled away from Kdin who quickly stood up and watched Caleb helplessly.

“I’m sorry…” Kdin choked out and covered her mouth as Lindsay lowered her hand and the pain in Caleb’s arm subsided, but then the pain disappeared completely when Lindsay snapped her fingers. “Please don’t waste it for me,” Kdin begged quietly.

Lindsay shook her head, “I’m not wasting it, I just saved your life.” Lindsay huffed and walked away brushing past Gavin who couldn’t stop staring at Caleb. Caleb breathed heavily and closed their eyes. The pain was sudden and instant, no delay and Caleb didn’t know what was happening. They opened their eyes. They looked over at Lindsay and frowned when they saw everyone else’s expressions.

She was a Special.

Caleb concluded quickly as Lindsay walked over to them and crouched next to them. “Now listen here, you touch anyone here and I _will_ kill you, even if I have to use my abilities to get the job done. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal.” Caleb spat as Lindsay stood and watched them for a bit before walking over to Kdin and taking her arm to lead her away.

“You’re telling me later what that was,” Geoff said quietly as Lindsay and Kdin passed him quietly.

“Fine, but keep them away from her,” Lindsay said and walked away as Matt silently walked over and helped Caleb up.

“We’re going to have a serious talk,” Matt stated as Caleb watched him with narrowed eyes. Suddenly, a flash of someone pointing a gun at Geoff clouded Caleb’s vision and their hand shot up to their head. “Caleb?” Matt called worriedly as the aforementioned opened their eyes and focused on the door behind Matt.

“No…” Caleb said quietly which made Matt frown. Before Matt could say something, Caleb quickly snatched Matt’s handgun from its holster and flicked the safety off as Matt’s eyes widened. Geoff, the Vagabond, and Michael all reached for their guns and pointed them at Caleb whose eyes and gun were trained on the glass door behind them. They stared at him in anticipation and waited impatiently for Caleb to make a move.

Matt took a step closer to Caleb and raised his hands, “Put the gun down.” The other didn’t respond so he took another step. “You don’t want to kill anyone today and you know that. We all know that, so just lower the gun and no one has to get hurt.”

“Matt, do you trust me?” Caleb asked suddenly as Matt was taken aback by the question.

Though, it didn’t take long for Matt to answer honestly. “Yes, I do.”

“Then trust me when I say that someone is about to kill Geoff,” Caleb said and everyone watched them with wide eyes. A few silent seconds passed and Caleb shouted, “Geoff, get down!” Immediately, Geoff ducked and a bullet shattered the glass door before embedding in the wall on the opposite side. Caleb aimed and shot blindly, even though they knew that they wouldn’t hit anything. Everyone ducked behind cover and looked over a couple times to peek at who was attacking them. “Who are you?” Caleb asked loudly as maniacal laughter increasingly grew in volume in a matter of seconds.

Soon enough, the laughter subsided and the crunching of glass under shoes could be heard as Caleb stood from his cover and aimed at the attacker. “Now, now, now, don’t get hostile. I didn’t injure anyone.”

“No, but you shot at us.” Caleb deadpanned and glared at the man in the menacing hockey mask as everyone else popped their heads out of their cover and Gavin gasped quietly.

“Oh, I did, didn’t I? Sorry, I wasn’t aiming for you, old man. I was actually aiming for your little birdy friend.” The man said and looked at Gavin who froze. “Oh, would you look at that? Said birdy friend is terrified to see me. Hello Golden Boy, we meet again.” If Caleb could see a face, the man behind the mask was probably smiling mischievously.

Gavin covered his mouth and took an instinctive step back as Geoff said through grit teeth, “Zed Direction.”

“Oh! You remembered me! And here I thought you would’ve forgotten me completely after our last encounter.” Zed said.

“How could I forget you after that first impression?” Geoff asked as Zed laughed.

“Haha! I’m flattered you even remembered my name. Seriously, I love making a scene everywhere I go.” Zed said and holstered his gun, looking at each of them and studying them all. “Hmm, you’re all interesting people and there’s so many to choose from.”

Geoff took a defensive step in front of everyone and frowned, “I don’t know what you’re planning, but whatever it is you’re going to stop right now and leave.”

“Or what?” Zed tilted his head a bit. “You’ll kill me? To be fair, I can take down all of you except for one. So it’d be unfair if we all fought and no one would like to know that the new gang is the easiest gang to beat because none of them can get along with each other. Seriously, Geoff, I thought you got the best of the best.”

“I did,” Geoff claimed instantly.

“This is the best of the best?” Zed motioned to all of them and scoffed, “The only thing you’ll be stopping is a moving box.”

“Why are you here, Zed?” Geoff said calmly.

Zed crossed his arms over his chest, “Getting right to the point now, are we?” Geoff simply nodded as Zed sighed and uncrossed his arms. “We made a promise to each other and I hope you keep it.” Geoff waited patiently for Zed who sighed once again and raised his hand which alerted some of the others to raise their weapons. Zed grabbed his mask and pulled it off, rubbing the back of his neck with his other hand sheepishly. Zed’s next words shocked everyone.

“I need your help.”


	12. Help Wanted III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zed reveals his intentions and Geoff has a little talk with him.

Lindsay and Kdin ran into the room as Lindsay yelled, “We heard a gunshot is everyone…okay?” Lindsay glared at Zed who waved at her charmingly. “What are _you_ doing here?”

“Oh hello, Tuggey! I didn't know you take orders from amateurs!” Zed smirked and pulled his mask back on after Lindsay narrowed her eyes at the scar over his left eye. “I don't wear this to hide it if that's what you're thinking. I wear it because the face behind this mask doesn't exist and it's just little ol’ me, Zed Direction. You can even ask Fügz.” He turned to her, “I heard all the commotion in here and Ultimate got outed, but fortunately for me, I can out every person here and you have no leverage on me because you don't even know who I am. I even have information on the Vagabond over there.” Zed gestured to the Vagabond who narrowed his eyes.

“What are you doing here, Zed?” Lindsay asked again through grit teeth.

“Like I said, I need your help and you're going to help me unless of course, you want to spend the rest of your life in jail just rotting like the disgusting animals you are. Well, one of you is truly a disgusting animal.” Zed’s gaze landed on Gavin who took a step back and kept his eyes trained on the floor.

Michael growled, “Bullshit, you know nothing about us!”

Everyone could practically hear the smirk in his voice as Zed talked, “Would you really like to challenge that?”

Geoff spoke up, “None of us care about each other’s pasts, so it doesn't matter what you tell us. We’ll only believe it if it's true.”

“I knew you'd say that.” Zed said and continued, “You're just lucky I'm not being too personal today. Old man, you used to be in the military. Jack, you're immensely insecure about how you look. Michael, you're working for the White Fang. Vagabond… or should I say, Ryan?” Zed smirked at the other’s reactions. “Lindsay, your ability is Chi Manipulation. Kdin, you're literally the smartest person alive. Matt, well actually that's not even your real name, but then again too many lives do that to you. Caleb, because I'm nice I'll say what they found out earlier, your sister is dead and your little brother works for the Corpirate. And finally Gavin…” The hybrid shook his head and looked at Zed begging him not to say anything. Before he could continue, Zed jumped back and looked at Michael who tried to attack him.

“No one here wants to listen to your lies so you best leave,” Michael said angrily as Zed laughed.

“Lies? Is that what you think all this is? These are all but lies and you all know it.”

Caleb frowned, “How did you get all this information?”

“If you look up the right things, you can discover anything.” Zed said and sighed, “Look, I know everything about all of you, so I suggest you help me get Dooley back.”

“We’re not helping you,” Michael growled.

“I'm not asking you, I'm asking your leader.” Zed looked at Geoff who clenched his jaw.

“Where is Dooley?” Geoff asked.

“Captured by one of the Corpirate’s lackeys. I know where and I know why. I've scouted the area already and I know which room he's in, but there're too many people. I need help.”

The Vagabond scoffed, “You've got guts waltzing in here and threatening us with secrets you claim to have. How do we know you actually have these secrets?”

Zed turned to the Vagabond, “Vagabond, you of all people know I'm telling the truth here.”

“Special?” The Vagabond asked.

Zed shook his head, “No, I'm just extremely observant and connections help too.”

“I trust you.” Everyone turned to Gavin in surprise as Zed smirked behind his mask. “If we help you, though, you help us take down the Corpirate.”

“Why would I--”

“Do you want Dooley back?” Gavin asked solemnly finally lifting his head to look at Zed directly.

Zed stared at Gavin before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck, “Yes, I do. Fine, I'll help you take down the Corpirate, but Dooley has to come back to me alive.”

Gavin walked up to Zed and outstretched his hand, “Deal?”

“Whoa Gavin who said--” Michael started, but the Vagabond shot a hand in front of Michael to stop him. “Are you kidding me? We aren't risking our lives for this shit!” Michael gestured at the two.

Kdin shook her head, “This is Gavin’s decision.”

“He's not the one running this Crew!” Michael objected.

“No, but he is the only one truly afraid of Zed and what he has against us,” Matt commented.

Michael clenched his hands into fists, “He shouldn't be afraid of him.”

“Then let him face his fear on his own and in his own way,” Lindsay replied as everyone looked back at Zed who seemed to be staring at Gavin’s offered hand.

Zed looked back up at Gavin who was giving a small smile, “I did say I'd make it up to you, remember?”

Gavin shook his head, “I'm not agreeing to this because of that. I'm doing this because of what you said to me previously. You only strike fear into people who deserve it. You told me that I don't deserve it, so if your statement is true then show your true colors. Are you truly here to intimidate us or do you want to save Dooley as soon as possible?”

Zed watched Gavin wordlessly and everyone else thought that Gavin had said the wrong thing, but laughing from the masked man erupted quickly. “This is why I came to this gang instead of another.” He said in between laughs and calmed down enough to continue, “You _are_ the best of the best and will take down the Corpirate no problem. You all just need to get along before one of you tears another’s head off. You're right, I do want to save Dooley as soon as possible, but you guys aren't saving shit if you can't get along. So I suggest you all get your secrets out there so it won't be used against you later on.”

Michael raised a brow, “Like what you did just now?”

“Precisely! You all need family time where we all sit down and talk about our feelings.” Zed jumped cheerily and pointed at the Vagabond, “You, Sir, don't have to say shit.”

“We are not doing this now…” Geoff said face palming and sighing.

“Why doesn't the Vagabond have to say anything?” Lindsay asked curiously.

Before Zed could answer, the Vagabond pulled off his mask and corrected Lindsay, “Ryan.” Everyone turned to him in confusion as Zed also pulled off his mask and smirked. “My name is Ryan.” Although his mask was off, he still had his face paint on.

“And I'm Trevor.” He said simply as Jack frowned.

“He wasn't lying?” Jack asked as Ryan nodded. “So your name is actually Ryan?” Ryan nodded as Jack turned to Trevor. “And you're Trevor?” Trevor smiled and nodded. “Well fuck, it took a torturer to learn the Vaga--I mean Ryan’s name.”

“I take offense to that title,” Trevor said sarcastically with a smile and placed a hand over his chest in mock hurt. The scar should’ve made him look dangerous, but his smile just made him look innocent. “Labels aren’t really a fan of mine, but call me as you wish. I know what I am and that’s all that matters.”

Lindsay leaned over to Matt and whispered, snickering quietly to herself. “Conceited.”

Trevor laughed, “I’m anything but conceited. Anyway, I believe we have some business to attend to concerning a certain medic.” The spy turned to Caleb who frowned. “Are you still angry?”

“Yes.”

“Well, stop because no one here cares about how your brother is affiliated with the Corpirate. I believe we all care about what you're going to do _because_ he's in the Corpirate’s gang.” He looked around as a few of them nodded.

Caleb watched and studied all of them. None of their faces held any anger, they were just upset or supportive. Caleb sighed, “I want to talk him out of it. I want him to find his path again.”

Trevor nodded, “Understandable. Old man, got something to say?”

Geoff nodded, “We’ll give you a chance to talk to your brother.” Geoff turned to Trevor and repeated, “We’re not doing this now. We’ll let everyone talk when they want to. No one here is going to be forced to talk about who they are or who they were before. Plus, we’ve got a lot to do and little time to do it.”

“Got it.” Trevor said with a smile, “In the meantime, I'll scout the area they're holding Dooley and before you ask, no, I don't need any backup. I can take care of myself, thank you very much.” Trevor moved towards the door, but stopped suddenly and turned to face them. “Oh, and I'll fix your window soon. I'll make it up to you, promise.”

Geoff raised a brow and cleared his throat, “How ‘bout you fix it now?” He suggested as Trevor smirked and chuckled.

“I'm not necessarily someone who'd know how to fix a window.” Trevor reasoned, but Geoff continued to watch him silently. Sighing, Trevor ran a hand through his hair, “Now?” Geoff simply nodded. “No normal human can learn how to fix a window overnight.”

Geoff crossed his arms over his chest, “No, but I have the strong feeling that you're not a normal human. So, I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer me honestly.” Frowning, Trevor fully faced Geoff who continued, “Are you a Special?”

Trevor looked at everyone and studied their expressions before his eyes landed on Gavin. The torturer smirked and slipped on his hockey mask, “Aren't we all?” With that, he left silently and disappeared into the night as Geoff sighed dramatically.

“He didn't even answer the question. And what is with you kids and disappearing like you're a fucking ninja?”

Lindsay laughed and clapped a hand on his shoulder, “‘Cause it's fucking fun to disappear like a fucking ninja.”

“We’re all Specials?” Gavin asked suddenly as Geoff and Lindsay turned to the bird hybrid. He looked up at them, “If you're a Special, why are you hiding it? Shouldn't we all be proud of who we are and how much we’ve accomplished despite being born a Special?” Gavin’s wings curled closer to him and he ran a hand through the feathers, avoiding the bandage that was still around his wing.

“Not everyone has had a good life like you, Gavin,” Michael growled as Gavin’s hands clenched into fists. “We can't all be smiling and happy.” He snapped as Matt shoved him away from Gavin. “What?” He asked angrily.

“Don't assume things about people you barely know.” Matt deadpanned as Michael huffed.

“Whatever.” Michael looked at Geoff, “We should probably talk about our meeting with Ray.”

Geoff nodded, “Thank you for reminding me.” He leaned on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting patiently for Michael to start speaking.

Michael sighed, “For now, Ray thinks the White Fang will cooperate with us until we have a solid plan for defeating the Corpirate. They're betraying us before we even start the heist or getting us killed during the heist.”

“I kinda figured. Anything I don't know?” Geoff asked.

“Yeah,” Michael replied and ran a hand through his hair, “Ray’s gaining all the information he can and once he's done, he's coming back.”

“Stop lying.”

Everyone turned to Kdin as Michael frowned, “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Kdin looked up at him, “Trevor said that you’re a part of the White Fang and I…” Kdin sighed, “I _know_ that you’re working against us. You’re not with us, Michael. Stop lying.” She repeated reluctantly as Michael narrowed his eyes at her.

Geoff quickly stopped Michael from advancing towards her and turned to Kdin, “Look, we all know what Trevor said, but that doesn't mean he was right. So right now, we put that behind us and figure out what we’re going to do with this information to ensure that we all live by the end of it. We’re not accusing anyone else of betrayal. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal,” Michael growled and turned around towards his room as they watched him angrily walk away from them.

“You do know what we have to do in this situation, right?” Lindsay asked and continued, “I mean, you're not just going to ignore the fact that he and Ray are clearly plotting against us.”

“I know, but I have a feeling that that's not the whole truth. Don't worry, Jack and I will take care of this situation. Lindsay, I need you to tell me everything you know about Trevor. Kdin, keep tracking Ray’s movements. Caleb, make sure Gavin is healing properly. Gavin, get some rest. Matt and Ryan, you're both overwatch tonight so switch out when you need to. We’re not going to have any more surprises tonight. Let's get to work before we rest up for the night.” Geoff said and looked at the glassless doorway as a shard fell to the ground adding to the pile there.

“We’re beating the Corpirate and the White Fang even if we have to make some sacrifices along the way because this city is ours.”

°~∆∆∆~°

Geoff rubbed at his eyes tiredly and studied the map and plans in front of him as Lindsay and Jack exchanged worried looks. Both of them urged the other to speak up first, but Geoff sighed and slowly shifted his gaze up to them. “You two are loud thinkers and are _very_ subtle with your worry about me.”

“Sorry,” Jack said, but Lindsay frowned.

“I'm not saying sorry.” Lindsay said quickly and added, “We’re worried about you, Geoff. Not only us two, but everyone is worried about you. You clearly haven't slept in three days. We think you should stop and relax for a bit. Y’know, sleep for more than two hours so you're well rested.”

“What about you two?” Geoff asked, furrowing his brows.

Jack shook her head, “You always tell us to sleep and we do. It's our turn to tell you the same. Please, Geoff, you need it.”

Sighing, Geoff knew that he couldn't fight them on this. They'd win even if he argued all he had. He really wished that it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass later on. Geoff nodded and raised his hands in defeat, “Alright, fine, I'll sleep.”

“Thank you,” Jack said as Geoff opened the door.

“Sleep means you're knocked out for five or more straight hours,” Lindsay replied as Geoff just waved her comment away and closed the door behind him.

Sighing yet again, Geoff walked towards his room but decided to stop by the kitchen to get a snack. He opened the refrigerator and quickly looked through it, grabbing some leftovers and closing the refrigerator. He threw it into the microwave and punched in a minute, leaning on the counter and waiting for it to finish. “Ah, son of a bitch…” Geoff heard and frowned, straightening up and slowly approached the voice that continued to spew out curse words.

“Why the fuck…?”

“You piece of shit, you better fit…”

“How in the fuck does that even work?”

Geoff entered the living room and raised a brow at the sight before him. “Uh…” He started with uncertainty, “What're you doing, Zed?”

A maskless Trevor was sitting on the floor with various papers littered all around him as he intensely read one of them. He didn't bother to look up when he heard Geoff’s question and raised a finger. “It's Trevor! I gave you my real name, so I suggest you use it.” Geoff shook his head and walked closer as a small breeze flew in from the broken window and some of the papers started flying away. Trevor quickly reached for one, but it--including many others--glided away from him and he fell over unceremoniously. “Son of a bitch…” Trevor sighed and rolled onto his back. “It's harder than you think.”

Geoff laughed and picked up some of the papers, walking over to Trevor and skimming through the paragraphs and images. It looked like instructions to put glass pane in a window frame. “What's harder than I think?”

“Fixing that,” Trevor said simply, gesturing at the paneless window that continued to blow a cool breeze inside and shuffle around the papers Trevor was reading.

Geoff looked down at him and raised a brow, “You're actually doing it tonight?”

Trevor shrugged and kept his eyes trained on the ceiling, “I did say I'd make it up to you.” Sighing, Trevor kicked up casually and dusted himself off, “Can't sleep?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Geoff said as Trevor shook his head and took the papers from Geoff gathering all of them together and straightening them into a neat pile.

“I haven't slept in a while,” Trevor said simply.

“How long is a while?” Geoff asked and crossed his arms over his chest.

“Oh, I don't know…” Trevor pushed a paper clip over the papers and slapped them onto the table, grabbing the measuring tape and pulling at the tape. “Eleven, no wait, that's wrong. Thirteen? Yeah, thirteen that sounds right.”

“Thirteen days?” Geoff asked in concern.

Trevor shook his head, “No, thirteen years.”

“How did you manage to do that? You look well rested!” Geoff said incredulously. “It looks like you've slept at least eight hours every day for your entire life!”

“Thank you, I try. I really do.” Trevor said with a grin.

“Please tell me you're joking and that you actually slept like last night or you take naps here and there,” Geoff said as Trevor shook his head. “Oh, my god… How have you survived for so long? I couldn't even stay awake for more than a week without little naps.”

“That's because you're old,” Trevor said as Geoff sighed.

“You're like--what?--twenty-two?”

Trevor shook his head, “Twenty-five.”

Geoff threw his hands into the air, “That doesn’t make it sound any better! It doesn't matter what age you are! The last time you slept was when you were twelve!”

Trevor quickly shushed him, “Geoff please, people are trying to sleep.”

Geoff shook his head, “Y’know what? Never mind, I'll drop the subject, but you need to answer honestly to this next question.” Trevor only shrugged and turned to measure the sides of the glassless doorway. “Why are you here?”

“Haven't I answered that question already?” Trevor asked and took note of all of the measurements, throwing the measuring tape haphazardly behind him and checking the sides of the door frame. Sighing, Trevor turned to face Geoff, “I'm here because you made a promise that you'd keep us safe. Dooley’s captured by the Corpirate and I was desperate to get him back. What other explanation do you want from me?”

“When was he taken?”

Trevor closed his eyes and lowered his head, releasing a breath. “An hour before I came to you.” He opened his eyes, lifting his head to look at Geoff.

“You've gained how much information in that hour?”

“Everything I needed to know. I know how to get him out, I just… I can't do it myself because it'll take more time. He has to get out in less than three days.” Trevor reasoned and walked over to the other side of the living room, poking at a glass pane that he most likely stole and smiling slightly.

“Why three days?”

Trevor shook his head, “That's not my information to give. I just know that he won't be himself if we take too long.”

Geoff frowned and raised a brow, “He won't be himself?” He echoed. “What do you mean?”

“I hope you won't have to find out,” Trevor said simply, dropping the matter for now. He pushed the glass carefully off the wall and picked it up as Geoff went to help, but Trevor quickly raised a palm to stop him. “I can do it myself. I made the promise.” Shaking his head, Geoff went to the other side of the glass and raised it off the ground. “Hey!” Trevor barked, “I can do it!”

“I'm just trying to help you out,” Geoff argued.

“Well, I never asked for any help.” Trevor snapped.

Geoff frowned and carefully dropped the side he was holding, keeping a firm grip on the glass so Trevor couldn't move it. “What is up with you?”

“Nothing, I'm just trying to make it up to you,” Trevor said through grit teeth and frowned when he realized that Geoff was clearly stronger than him, physically anyway.

“That doesn't mean that you have to do everything yourself.”

“I don't care, just let go,” Trevor said in frustration and clenched his jaw.

Sighing, Geoff knew he wasn't going to convince the kid, so he let go and took a couple of steps back as Trevor carefully moved the glass to the hole. Geoff found it mildly surprising that Trevor didn't have any problem with lifting and moving it. “You're like a five-year-old,” Geoff commented out of nowhere.

Trevor positioned the glass accurately and started securing it into place, “Gee thanks, do you tell that to everyone who refuses your help?”

“No, just you,” Geoff said with a small smile.

“Yeah, well, you're an old man. What're you like a hundred years old?” Trevor asked rhetorically, chuckling.

“Haha, very funny,” Geoff replied sarcastically.

Trevor easily secured the glass pane and pushed the glass to see if it'd move at all. “You want to ask something about me. You have it on the tip of your tongue, but you're afraid of how I'll react when you ask it.”

Geoff blinked and was a little taken aback, but quickly regained his composure and straightened up. “I'm assuming you already know what I'm going to ask then.”

Trevor nodded and stood, turning to face Geoff. “What's my ability?”

“Will you answer it honestly?”

Trevor shrugged, “I'm a master at gaining information from people. It's what we do for a living because Dooley and I get paid for it and we’re damn good at our job. I don't give information to people without proper payment. I especially don't give out information about me. The only personal things you know about me is my first name and my face.” He gestured to his face casually and the scar over his left eye seemed more apparent at that moment. At that moment, he looked dangerous. “What I said earlier did not mean I was admitting to being a Special, but you may interpret it as you wish. So, I'm going to give you one chance, if you think I'm a Special and figure out my ability, I'll confirm that it's my ability. But if you're incorrect, you'll never find out. If you conclude that I'm not a Special, then you have nothing to fear. I suggest you watch carefully, old man, because it may help or hinder you in the long run.”

“You're challenging me?” Geoff asked incredulously.

Trevor smirked, “I am. Good luck, Ramsey.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and slowly started walking away. He stopped next to Geoff and pointed at his ear, “If you need me, talk in the comms. I'd appreciate it if we kept in touch because tomorrow night we’re freeing Dooley whether or not your team is ready.” He walked towards the exit and opened the door, stopping briefly to look back at Geoff. “Sweet dreams, Kingpin.” He said, pulling on his mask and closing the door behind him.

That was the only night Geoff _didn't_ wake up in a cold sweat because of a nightmare he had every time he slept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I applaud you, LibbyBell, for guessing correctly.


	13. Step 1: Save Dooley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fakes attempt to rescue Dooley from captivity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So because I reached 100 kudos, I'm posting a new chapter. So here ya go! Enjoy!

_It’s time. We’re coming for you, Jeremy._ Trevor thought. They were going to free Dooley from the Corpirate’s hands and bring him safe and sound back home because Trevor would do anything to save the younger. It didn't matter how many enemies was thrown in front of him, he could outsmart all of them and get to Dooley quicker than a normal human. The only problem was that he couldn't save Dooley in less than three days and honestly, it was a last resort to go to the Fakes for help. It was either them or go by himself. No matter how confident he was, he knew he couldn't do it with a time limit. It was always not enough time when it came to Dooley.

“Trevor.” Someone called, pulling Trevor back into reality. The aforementioned looked over at Matt who was watching him with a sense of concern. “Are you ready?” He asked as Trevor smirked.

“Of course, I was waiting for all of you to finish whining,” Trevor stated and walked over to Matt who chuckled.

“Honestly, I'd be more worried if no one whined about shit,” Matt replied as the two walked together towards the vehicles they were using to get to Dooley’s location.

Trevor laughed, “It does seem like they're incapable of not whining.” They stopped next to the vehicles as Michael jumped down from the top of the SUV and everyone gathered around them.

Michael clapped his hands, “Okay, run through it one more time.”

Trevor nodded, “Kdin hacked into the cameras of the building already and has eyes and hopefully ears once we get there. Gavin stays here as an extra set of eyes since he's still injured and is Kdin’s backup if someone decides to sneak up on them here. Caleb and Jack are staying a few blocks away as backup for the rest of us if it gets too hairy out there. Michael has a shitload of explosives which he will use to confuse and take out some of them hopefully, most of them. He’ll also be our covering fire. The old man and Matt will help Michael cover the rest of us and kill as many of them as possible. Lindsay will find any additional information and files on the Corpirate while Ryan and I look for Dooley inside the building. Any questions?”

“Yeah, do we explode the building?” Michael asked.

“Once everyone is a safe distance away, sure, why not?” Trevor said with a smile.

“What if the Corpirate is expecting us? I mean, he's bound to know already.” Lindsay pointed out.

“Oh, he knows already. He captured Dooley because we were in contact with you guys and saw that he was vulnerable.” Trevor answered. “And before you ask, yes, he is very aware that you’re out to get him. He’s also aware that the White Fang want him dead as well.”

Geoff frowned, “How does he know all of this information?”

Trevor smirked, “Simple, you look in the right places and have the right connections and you'll find out anything you need to know. Trust me, gaining information is my specialty.”

“Is everyone clear on their jobs and what the objective is?” Geoff asked and looked at each of them as they all nodded. “Good, this is our first official heist guys, let's sketch our names into the concrete so that the Corpirate can remember us bye.” Everyone cheered and shot their fists into the air, clearly pumped and ready for the heist.

Hopefully, all goes well for them.

°~∆∆∆~°

Trevor carefully drove the car with Ryan in the front of the line with Geoff and Matt in the car behind them, Jack and Caleb coming up third, and Michael and Lindsay in the rear. “Kdin, we’re approaching our destination. Do you have eyes on their first line of defense?”

_”Absolutely, there’s two people out in front with concealed weapons under their shirts. But they'll see you from a mile away. I'd suggest that Michael blows up a building nearby unless of course, you want a stealth mission.”_

“He knows we’re coming.” Trevor assured and smirked, “You heard her, Michael, go and do your thing!”

“Gladly,” Michael said simply and swerved into the other lane, speeding up next to Trevor’s car before branching away from them.

“Don't use too much,” Trevor said.

“I'm not an animal,” Michael replied and slowed to a stop, popping the trunk and stepping out of the car. He lifted the trunk door and looked at the array of explosives, “Plus, we have a lot more than we need.”

_”Break away now, guys,”_ Kdin said as Trevor glanced at the rearview mirror in time to see both cars behind him abruptly turn and disappear behind dunes. _”On my mark, Michael, explode it.”_

“Got it!” He responded and stuck the last of the C4 he was going to use on the side of the building. He got back in the car and turned to Lindsay who rolled her eyes. “What?” He asked.

“Should've put fireworks on it.” She said, shaking her head in disappointment.

“I would if I had any.” Michael drove away and towards the general area where Geoff and Matt parked their car.

“We’ll celebrate later, let's rescue Dooley first.” Geoff reminded them.

“Jeremy.”

“Come again?” Geoff asked as Trevor sighed.

“His name will be Jeremy when you meet him,” Trevor answered. “Just… Remember that when you first meet him. He’ll appreciate it, trust me.”

Geoff turned to Matt who shrugged, “Of course, but codenames will be initiated once Kdin cues Michael.”

_”Are you clear, Michael?”_

“Call it, Kdin!” Michael replied.

Kdin smiled, _“Sync?”_

“Sync.”

_“Mark!”_ Almost instantly, the building behind them exploded and quickly caught on fire as the flames spread surprisingly fast. _”The heist is a go! I repeat, the heist is a go! Good luck guys.”_ Gavin went to stand to look at the computer, but Kdin rested a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

“I wanna watch, though,” Gavin argued childishly.

“You need to sleep, Free.” Kdin shot back.

“But I wanna help!”

Kdin sighed and simply pointed at the TV in front of the living room couch pressing a single button as images flooded the screen. It was the same exact thing Kdin saw on the computer. “I guess… they did say you are my extra set of eyes.” Kdin said, rubbing the back of her neck.

“Cheers Fügz!” Gavin jumped onto the couch and leaned forward, quickly flicked his eyes at each of the images. Being a bird hybrid, he was able to spot things instantly because of his literal eagle vision. Well, he wasn't an eagle, but it's close enough. Actually, he doesn't even know what kind of bird he was.

Kdin smiled at him and turned back to her laptop screen, “ _Alright guys, showtime._ ”

Trevor glanced at the flames peeking over the sand dune and smirked, “Did you at least ransack the place of supplies?” He asked Michael.

“Pssh, what’s the point of ransacking the place if you want to burn it all down?” Michael retorted and looked over at Lindsay who was holding up a rare handgun that Michael had never seen before in person. It was a gun Michael had been wanting since his eyes first laid his eyes on it on the Internet. “Where in the fuck did you get that? And how do you have enough money to afford that shit?”

Lindsay shrugged, “It was in the warehouse.”

“The warehouse we just burned down?” Michael asked in confusion and pointed behind him as Lindsay nodded. “Did they just have a whole crate of them? And when the fuck did you have the time to sneak in and grab a handgun?”

“You were busy so I grabbed a couple of things. They're in the back seats.” Lindsay answered as Michael adjusted the mirror to look at the back seats which were indeed filled with various weapons. “I think we’ll need most of it in the future.”

“Is that a grappling hook?” Michael asked as Lindsay turned to look.

“Oh hey, it is. I didn't even notice I grabbed that, but yeah, I basically grabbed one of everything.”

Michael sighed and slowed to a stop next to the car Geoff was driving, rolling down the window. “Sup,” Michael said simply as Lindsay waved at them.

Geoff rolled his eyes and Matt waved back. “We’re in position,” Geoff reported.

“ _Alright, that’s good. Architect and Ultimate, are you guys in position?_ ” Kdin asked.

“Yes, we are in position,” Caleb answered as Trevor slowed to a stop near the building Jeremy was in. There were a couple of cars that drove right by Trevor and Ryan and didn’t even think twice about them as various shouts in different languages echoed around them.

Trevor turned to Ryan and smirked raising a gun, “I think it’s time to say hello to the Corpirate, Vagabond.” The two hid their weapons under their clothing and got out of the car as Trevor narrowly missed a car going sixty miles per hour. “That bitch had the intention of hitting me!” He said as Ryan laughed.

“Maybe you should’ve looked around for cars before you got out.” Ryan took out his knife and slashed at one of their tires, quickly jumping back just in case the tire let out too much air at once. Ryan raised a brow as Trevor chuckled, “What?”

Trevor pointed a finger at him and smiled, “A tire’s not going to attack you.”

“No, but they can be vicious things if they explode unexpectedly,” Ryan said from experience. He had to recover for days because a tire had blown up in his face. Trevor still had the dorky grin on his face and Ryan just rolled his eyes, “Whatever, just go already.”

“I shall sweet talk the two while you pretend to be fixing the car.” Trevor reminded him as Ryan gestured to the car.

“Pop the hood open, then.”

“Fugz, please roll the pre-recorded loop of camera one.” Popping the hood open, Trevor walked away and towards the jail that held Jeremy clenching his hands unconsciously as his hand hovered over his weapon, but he quickly regained his composure and remembered that they had to stick to the plan. Stick to the plan and Jeremy comes back alive. Veer away from the plan and Jeremy’s dead. He couldn’t have that, so he instantly put on a façade that would easily trick the two guards up front. Speaking of said guards, the two quickly had their hands over their concealed weapons and had their other hand up to stop Trevor from advancing. They looked like very cautious policemen. Amateurs.

“Stop right there!” The one on the left shouted.

Instantly, Trevor raised his hands in an obvious harmless gesture, “Whoa! Calm down, my boyfriend and I was just driving along the road when one of our tires failed on us. Could you help us please?”

“ _Zed…_ ” Ryan warned as Trevor internally smiled. He loved messing with people and their sexualities, but then again it always showed how open-minded people were.

The one on the right relaxed a bit and smirked, “Depends, you a prostitute?” That was certainly a new one, but Trevor decided to go along with it.

“And if I was? You wouldn’t want to let little ol’ me stay stranded here forever now, would you?” Trevor asked with a charming smile.

“ _Jesus Christ, someone make him stop,"_  Geoff said, facepalming.

The one on the left relaxed as well, “I don’t know, maybe we want you to be stranded here.”

The right one spoke, “Do you really have a boyfriend with you, kid?” _Ooh, wrong choice of words there, buddy._ Trevor thought. He hated being called a kid because that meant he was immature and he wasn’t. He really wasn’t. He was an adult who knew how to take care of himself and others. Okay, maybe his perception of immaturity was a little skewed, but that’s beside the point.

“If you come with me, you’ll find out.” Trevor crooked his finger at them and turned around, slowly walking away and knew that they wouldn’t follow him.

“ _Just for that stunt, I’m going to shoot him,_ ” Ryan said, referring to Trevor. A gun clicked loudly behind Trevor and he was pretty sure that everyone, even the rest of the Fakes heard it over the earpiece. “ _Zed,_ ” Ryan warned as Trevor turned around to face the two men who held their guns firmly and looked about ready to shoot.

“Nice try, kid.” The guy on the right said, “We’re not fucking stupid. We can see right through your façade.”

“We’re a part of the Corpirate’s gang.” The guy on the left added and took a step forward, “I’m guessing you’ve come for Dooley then.”

“ _They’re onto us!_ ” Ryan said as the torturer rolled his eyes.

“ _Zed, get out of there!_ ” Geoff shouted as Trevor smirked and raised his hands.

“Guilty.” Trevor sing songed and added, “What are you going to do, shoot me?”

The man on the right smirked, “You underestimate us, kid. We can do a lot of other things other than shoot you. So the Fakes finally showed up, he knew you would.”

“Whoa, the Fakes?” Trevor asked, “You mean the lame ass new gang that thinks that they’re better than everybody else? You think I’m associated with them? Man, you’ve got it all wrong. I came here by myself to save my friend.”

“It's Zed Direction!” The man on the left gasped and moved his finger onto the trigger as Trevor’s eyes narrowed and his hand instantly moved to his knife, crouching to dodge the bullets he knew would come his way. The guy missed and the right man shot a couple of stray bullets as Trevor swiftly lunged forward and drew his knife back to plunge it deep into the left man’s chest twisting the knife. Blood steadily poured out of the man from the wound and Trevor smiled wickedly as he saw the life leave the man’s eyes. He pulled the knife out and pushed the lifeless body to the floor as the other guy cocked his gun in panic. Trevor turned to look at him and he swore the man saw the glint in his eyes that told the story of death because he was terrified beyond belief.

“No!” The right man shouted and pulled the trigger as Trevor skillfully dodged the bullets and ran to the man, knocking the gun away and jumping onto him to pin him.

“I'll see you in Hell, man. Too bad Heaven doesn't have enough space for sick fucks like you.” Trevor said in a low voice as the man below him tried to squirm free and yell, but Trevor instantly had one of his hands pressed against the man’s mouth. The man was screaming into his mouth. Disgusting. He slowly leaned down and smiled sickly whispering into the other’s ear, “I had a lovely chat with you two, I hope we’ll have another.” Trevor straightened up and grabbed the man’s gun with his other hand as the other furiously shook his head and tried to scream louder than his muffled cries. Trevor placed the barrel of the gun over the man’s heart. “Goodbye!” The torturer said and pulled the trigger.

“Zed…” Ryan called quietly from behind him.

Throwing the gun haphazardly to the side, Trevor looked down at himself and frowned, “Dammit, my clothes are all ruined.” He ran a hand through his hair and stood up, examining his handiwork. “Luckily their guns had silencers.”

“Did they hear your voices, though?” Ryan asked and kept a safe distance away from Trevor. He wasn't sure if he was mentally stable right about now.

“I'm fine, Vagabond. You don't have to look so worried.” Trevor said, smiling and catching his gaze. “I won't kill you because of my mental state, I'm probably saner than you are.”

Ryan frowned, “I'm perfectly sane.”

“ _That's questionable!_ ” They heard Gavin’s distant voice say.

“Did no one else just witness what happened right now?” Ryan asked and gestured at the two dead guys. “I am a lot saner than this!”

“ _No, you're not,_ ” Kdin said a matter of factly.

Trevor waved away their current conversation and said, “As for the enemy hearing our voices, no, they didn't hear. They'd be out here right now and we'd be ass deep in bullets if they heard us.”

Ryan’s gaze landed on a particularly bloody spot in Trevor’s side and pointed, “You got shot.” He said simply as Trevor looked down and lifted his shirt to reveal a bleeding bullet wound.

“Huh, I didn't even feel it,” Trevor replied and lowered his shirt, straightening it out in fact.

“How am I still the insane one?” Ryan asked, throwing his arms up in the air.

Geoff face palmed again and sighed, “ _Zed, I will call you back so Ultimate can take a look at you and Mogar can take your place._ ”

Trevor shook his head, “Nope.” He said simply and ripped off some of the dead man’s shirt to put over his wound, barely flinching and waiting for a couple of seconds to throw the damp now red shirt piece onto the guy.

“You're leaving it in you?” Ryan asked in disbelief as Trevor nodded.

He shrugged, “Well, it's either take it out and I bleed out during the heist or leave it in and get Dooley out and _then_ bleed out.”

“Or leave it in as it slowly tears at your tissue and maybe permanently damage something that we probably won't have the equipment to fix.” Ryan retorted.

“Meh, as long as I live to see Dooley survive today, then I'm good,” Trevor replied and smiled when Ryan shook his head in disappointment. “What?” He asked with a grin, “Worried that I'd die on the job?”

Ryan shook his head and brushed past him, “Shut up and die already.” He turned to shove Trevor who easily caught himself.

“Whoa, careful, you wouldn't want to hurt your boyfriend now, would you?” Trevor asked with a shit eating grin.

“You keep fucking talking and I'll slit your throat.”

“I'm hurt, Vagabond.” He said in mock hurt and laid a hand on his chest. “You've hurt me.” Ryan gave him a pointed glare as Trevor sighed and waved it away. “Fine, I'll stop. Jeez, you're like Dooley when we’re on assignment and we pretend to be a couple.”

There was a tiny crash as Kdin shouted, “ _Free, what the fuck?_ ”

“ _You mean to tell me that you and Dooley aren't officially dating?_ ” Gavin asked.

“Uh no, just because we often play a gay couple doesn't mean we are one. In fact, the only reason we play a gay couple is because Dooley’s so uncomfortable with it that it's hilarious.” Trevor said as Ryan started walking to the other side of the building. “Hey, Vagabond, where you going?”

“Leaving this conversation so I don't have to listen to it anymore,” Ryan said, stomping away.

“ _We’re still on the earpiece, you donut._ ”

“Shut up,” Ryan said through grit teeth as Trevor followed him. “Guys just please start Phase Two so we can all get away from this conversation.”

“ _Gladly,_ ” Geoff said and stepped out of the car.

“ _One more stunt like that and you're going to your room!_ ”

“ _Sorry Fügz!_ ”

Quickly, Trevor and Ryan looked around the building for any other guards and were actually surprised to not find any. “They're all inside.” Trevor said and added, “That's dangerous for them.”

Ryan nodded, “Alright, guys come on over.” He said into the earpiece and turned to Trevor, “Where’s Dooley?”

“He's the farthest away from the entrance, so top floor in the back,” Trevor answered as Geoff, Matt, Michael, and Lindsay all ran over with various weapons on their person.

“Mogar, demolish the front then,” Ryan said. “Stealth?”

“Of course. There’ll be reinforcements over here the moment they suspect something.” Trevor replied and cocked a handgun Lindsay handed him. “You're right, Mogar, this is a sweet gun.”

“How come he gets to use it?” Michael whined.

“Because just using a handgun will get you killed if you're out here,” Lindsay said simply.

“Don't worry, I'll bring it back in one piece,” Trevor promised. “But if not, I'll make it up to you.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and grabbed onto the back of Trevor’s shirt, dragging him towards the building. “I will seriously cut you if you don't stop talking.”

“No, you won't, but fine, I'll stop running my mouth.” Trevor pulled on his hockey mask and Ryan pulled on his skull mask. “Hey Vagabond, do you know ASL?”

“Why?”

“Communications so we can be extra stealthy.” Trevor said with a grin as Ryan rolled his eyes. “Is that a no?”

Ryan lightly shoved him, “It's a yes. C’mon.” Ryan crouched in front of a vent and opened it, laying it on the ground and was about to crawl in, but Trevor laid a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back a bit. “What?”

“I'll go first. I know where to go.” Trevor said and crawled in as Ryan frowned and crouched down to speak to him.

“Have you been in the building before?” He asked.

Trevor crawled in further so Ryan could get in and shook his head, “No, but I don't need to be here before to know where to go.”

“ _How in the fuck does that make sense?_ ” Michael asked as Trevor shook his head again and Ryan followed after him.

“Just go plant your stupid bombs, Mogar,” Trevor whispered and crawled in the surprisingly spacious vent.

“ _Touchy much?_ ” Michael said before getting to work on his explosives.

“ _Let them work, Mogar. They need to be silent in there. Tuggey, be ready for their signal._ ”

“ _Got it._ ”

They crawled for what felt like years to Trevor before they stopped as Trevor pointed at the grate that blocked them from the more spacious hallway that probably has guards at every corner. Ryan looked out of the grate and saw a man with a gun walk by, keeping his breathing slow and his movements to a minimum. When the man was far enough, Ryan moved his hands to grab the grate, but Trevor quickly shoved his hands away and put a finger to his own lips, silently telling Ryan to be quiet. Ryan did what he was told and kept still as another guard caught up to the other and continued a conversation they were apparently having. Ryan decided that it was smarter to wait for Trevor’s cue before he moved. The torturer quietly grabbed the grate and pushed it off with a loud rusted screech, moving it to the side and getting out of the vent. Ryan followed silently and straightened his back, he was getting too old for this shit. Ryan tapped his shoulder to gain his attention and signed, “How did you know he was there?”

Trevor shrugged and signed back, “I saw him.” The matter was dropped immediately and they continued on, Trevor leading the way as Ryan looked around carefully no matter how much he trusted the younger. Anyone could sneak past Trevor’s observant eyes and catch them off guard. Hell, he's had people sneak up on him, but then again most of them were street kids who asked for money.

Suddenly, Trevor stopped and put his finger to his own lips again, pointing down the hallway. “Thirty seconds until they walk around the corner.” Trevor signed. Ryan looked around carefully for an escape route and saw another vent above them, pointing up as Trevor followed his gaze.

Twenty-five seconds, Ryan counted internally.

“It could lead to the second floor.” Ryan signed as Trevor nodded and stabilized his stance, cupping his hands together below him. Ryan took a couple of steps back and had a running start before Trevor effortlessly lifted him up to the vent as Ryan pushed the grate open and heaved himself into it. Ten seconds. Ryan moved and reached down to help Trevor up who gladly accepted his help. Five seconds. Ryan pulled him up and into the vent as Trevor quickly put the grate back into place and two people walked under them. After a few beats of silence and stillness, Trevor sighed in relief and looked at Ryan. “That was close.” He signed.

“Agreed.” Ryan signed back. “Let's go.” Trevor nodded and they continued crawling through the vents.

“ _Their security sucks…_ ” Gavin stated boredly and groaned, falling back onto the couch before springing forward and squawking in pain because he put pressure on his injured wing.

“ _Oh yeah, I definitely feel very safe and secure with him, Ramsey,_ ” Kdin said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

“ _Aw Fügz, you don't mean that!_ ”

“ _Break something and I'll break you._ ”

“ _You wouldn't do that, you love me too much._ ”

“ _Try me, Free…_ ” After several seconds, loud squawking could be heard and Geoff sighed and facepalmed. Sometimes he wished the best of the best weren't complete idiots.

Trevor tried his best to suppress a laugh and smiled turning back to look at Ryan who was also smiling. The two stopped at a grate and Trevor pointed up signing, “He should be in this room.” Suddenly, Trevor frowned and tried to peek in without making too much noise.

Ryan gained his attention, “Something wrong?”

“There's only one person in there.”

“Okay, so it's Dooley, let's get him.”

Trevor shook his head, “It’s not Dooley.” He signed with a mix of disappointment and anger, but also with a look of frustration and confusion. “They wouldn't relocate him, I would've known if he was relocated or if they were planning to do it.”

“Maybe it's the wrong room.”

Trevor shook his head again and clutched his head in pain, “No…” He spoke quietly, but before Ryan could keep him from speaking further, the torturer pushed open the grate as it clattered to the ground and Ryan winced. So much for stealth. Trevor frantically got out of the vent and stood up to stare at the only other person in the room. Someone all too familiar to him.

Ryan got out of the vent calmly and dusted himself off, looking at Trevor who continued to stare at the other man who had their back to them and was probably just staring at the wall the entire time. Whoever this was, was waiting for them this entire time. They _knew_ the Fakes would arrive soon and so they waited. How could they just walk into this trap?

Just as Ryan thought that, sirens wailed loudly in the building and he looked around in shock. “Zed, we have to go now!”

“ _Get out of there!_ ” Geoff shouted as the sounds of gunfire swallowed his voice soon after. “ _Shit! How many of them are there?_ ”

“ _Change of plans guys! They hacked into my own equipment! They were watching us this whole time! They knew our every move! Free and I are leaving this safe house to head to--_ ” Kdin started as a loud crash interrupted her. “ _Free! Get off of him!_ ”

The line was cut.

“Dammit…” Jack muttered and gripped the steering wheel tighter, her knuckles turning white. Jack was about to say something, but Caleb placed their hand over hers.

They turned to her and spoke softly, “Help them, I got Fügz and Free. It's better to split up.”

“That's not smart, especially since we don't know what happened to them.” Jack informed as Caleb shook their head and removed their hand from on top of hers.

“I need to know if they're alive,” Caleb said as Jack frowned.

“We all want to know, Ultimate.”

“ _Neither of you are leaving your post until Zed or the Vagabond gives the signal,_ ” Geoff said.

“But Ramsey! I could save them!” Caleb argued.

“ _We’re not risking anything, we’re sticking to the plan whether or not you agree with how it's going so far. We are all worried about them, but now is not the time to put emotions into play. Emotions get us killed._ ” Geoff reasoned as Caleb clenched their hands.

“Fine,” Caleb said through grit teeth.

“Dooley…?” Trevor called weakly and gasped when the person who was standing there turned around. It was indeed Dooley. “Three days… It was always three days. No, this was too early. What did they do to you?”

“My boss said you'd come here eventually.” Jeremy said and smirked, “He said to take care of the Fakes.” He skillfully played with a knife, “Especially you.” He said calmly and pointed at Trevor with the knife.

Trevor shook his head, “You're not who you think you are.”

“You're not using your abilities against me, Zed Direction. Your mind games won't affect me.”

“I’m not using any mind games,” Trevor said matter of factly and almost sadly.

Jeremy scoffed, “You're not fooling me. In fact, you're boring me.” He raised the knife as Ryan instantly drew his handgun and pointed at Jeremy, but Trevor smacked his hands away to cause his bullet to miss as Jeremy raised the knife higher and embedded it into Trevor’s shoulder. With the knife in his shoulder, Trevor yelled in pain and clutched his shoulder around the blade and fell to one knee, breathing heavily. Swiftly, Jeremy ran up to Trevor to grab the handle of the knife to push it the rest of the way down Trevor’s back, but Ryan kicked him away and aimed his gun at Jeremy when he fell onto the ground.

“Stop!” Trevor shouted and quickly stood in front of Jeremy, roughly pulling out the knife in his shoulder and throwing it haphazardly to the side as it clattered to the ground.

Ryan frowned, “Get out of the way, Zed!”

“No!” Trevor replied, “You're not hurting him! He doesn't know what he's doing!”

“It looks like he knows exactly what he's doing and that's trying to kill us! Get out of the way before I have to shoot through you!” Ryan threatened as Trevor only shook his head.

“I'm not moving until you put the gun away,” Trevor said, determined to stand his ground.

Staring at him in disbelief, Ryan growled in frustration and lowered the gun, “It’s not my fault if he kills you.” He muttered as Trevor looked at him thankfully.

Groaning, Jeremy slowly got up and looked up at Trevor and Ryan. His eyes widened immediately and he attempted to reach for the bloody knife, but Trevor kicked it away and crouched down in front of Jeremy. Sadly, Trevor watched Jeremy move away from him and spoke quietly, “It’s time to sleep now, buddy.” Almost instantly, Jeremy’s eyes rolled back into his head and he became unconscious. Trevor stood and looked at Ryan, “We can go now.” He said and added, “Which way do you want to exit?”

“ _I’d prefer it if you go out the back door. I mean, I did kinda just infest the whole front of the building with very deadly explosives. Oh, and all of the baddies are coming out from the front._ ” Michael suggested.

“Alright, well we can't go through the vents while dragging Dooley with us.” Ryan pointed out as he and Trevor simultaneously turned to look at the only window in the room. Trevor raised his eyebrows and smiled at Ryan who sighed and ran a hand over his face, “Fine…”

“Yes!” Trevor cheered, then a pound on the door alerted them. “Well, time to go. Kingpin, we’re jumping out a window. Think you can keep us clear for maybe three minutes?”

“ _Whatever you need, we’ll make it happen,_ ” Geoff answered.

“I’ll carry him,” Ryan offered and Trevor nodded.

Trevor pulled off his jacket and quickly put it on Jeremy. “You two go down and I'll stay here in case they get in. Be careful with him and don't touch his skin. You'll make him worse.” Trevor pulled out gloves from his pocket and put them on Jeremy’s hands.

“How come you can touch him?” Ryan asked in curiosity.

“Let's just say that I'm immune,” Trevor said simply and stood, another loud pound on the door caused them to look over. Two more hits and that door was going down. Trevor turned to Ryan and looked at him with hope, “Take care of him. Please.”

Ryan studied Trevor briefly before nodding, “Of course.” He said and carefully pulled Jeremy over his shoulder as Trevor took out a gun and shot at the window, the glass shattering into millions of pieces. Ryan looked out the window and there seemed to be a zip line connected to the house. “Was this here before?”

Trevor looked over and laughed, “Looks like the grappling hook Tuggey got from the warehouse had some sort of use after all.”

“How do we both get down, though?” Ryan asked and looked around the room for something that was strong enough to hold two men up as the door was pounded on once more. One more pound and the door would be history.

“ _Blankets? Attach those to Dooley maybe and we’ll catch him._ ” Michael suggested as Trevor nodded and they both started tying up Jeremy to the cable.

“Vagabond, use your jacket,” Trevor said and kept his eyes on the door as Ryan slightly pushed Jeremy so that gravity could do the rest before Ryan dropped down himself.

After successfully reaching the ground, Ryan yelled up at the window, “Zed, come on!”

Trevor looked around for something to wrap around the cord, but couldn't find anything quickly enough before the door was beaten down. “Freeze or we'll shoot!” The man at point shouted angrily. What the fuck? They weren't police, why in the hell did they want him to freeze?

One decision and it had to be quick.

_Fuck it…_ Trevor told himself and jumped out the window as a spray of bullets were fired at him. Luckily, none of them hit him and he grabbed the cable with his hands and let go after a couple of seconds because his hands burned from sliding down and he was close enough to the ground that it wouldn't cause any permanent damage. Though, the blood on his hands kept his hands slippery enough to slide but made it difficult to keep his grip. Losing his hockey mask, Trevor landed and rolled into a crouch to soften his landing as pain immediately shot up his arms and he looked down at his burned hands. Hopefully, it wouldn't hinder his ability to shoot or throw. Though, his wounded shoulder burned because of the jump, pressure, and roll.

Detaching the grappling hook, Michael impatiently waited for the cable to roll up properly and slung it over his shoulder, running over to Trevor and helping him up. “Ultimate, Zed needs serious medical attention. I'm bringing him to you now and we’re all leaving right now.”

“Where's Dooley?” Trevor asked as black spots started to litter his vision.

“Would you fucking worry about yourself for once you selfless asshole?” Michael snapped, but it held no anger. “Just fucking live, okay?”

“I will…” Trevor breathed out.

Geoff made precise well-timed shots as every enemy they put against him were falling to the ground. He and Lindsay were simultaneously taking steps back and giving Ryan and Michael covering fire as they brought the injured to Jack and Caleb. “Tell us when, Mogar.”

Once Michael and Ryan carefully placed Trevor and Jeremy in the car, Jack and Caleb drove off to the safe house they all agreed to go to if the previous safe house was compromised. Michael watched them drive away for a few seconds before he said, “They're in the clear, Ramsey.”

Geoff and Lindsay exchanged looks and both nodded before slinging their guns over their shoulders and bolting out of there towards their escape vehicles. “Mogar, now!” Geoff shouted as Michael detonated the bombs on the building and fire immediately consumed the entire building and everyone in or around it. Geoff and Lindsay got in one car as Michael and Ryan got in the other. All of them drove away and left, the unrelenting fire destroying everything.


	14. Certainly a Peculiar Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor attempts to cure Jeremy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS/HAPPY HANNUKAH/HAPPY KWANZAA/HAPPY ANY OTHER HOLIDAY TYPE THING YOU CELEBRATE! Sorry, I should really learn if there's anything else other than those three events that happen around this time. So, lately you guys are getting a lot of chapters early, which means I need to step up my writing game. Mostly because I try to be five chapters ahead of what's posted. Oh, and you're also getting a chapter on New Years, so wait for that. But that also means delays on chapters until I'm up to five chapters ahead again. Anyway, Ima stop rambling. ENJOY!!!

Caleb looked at the two in the back. Trevor still held his shoulder firmly to slow down the bleeding and looked up at Caleb with pain filled eyes, releasing a shaky breath. “You'll live,” Caleb assured as Trevor shook his head.

“I'm not worried about if _I'll_ live or not,” Trevor said and slowly moved to sit up properly in the seat. Both of their gazes moved to the unconscious Jeremy. “It wasn't supposed to happen so soon…” Trevor mumbled under his breath and Caleb looked at him with a frown but decided to not question it.

“ _Architect, what's your ETA?_ ” Geoff asked.

“Ten minutes,” Jack answered and glanced at Trevor. “Can you hold out for that long without dying?”

It was supposed to be a serious question, but Trevor smirked. “I've had worse. Hell, I've _done_ worse. I am a torturer after all.”

“Okay, sure, just be creepy while we’re all in the car,” Caleb said with a light smile.

“Problem?” Trevor asked with a grin. “If you think that's creepy, you won't survive any of my reserved time with my patients.”

“Zed,” Jack warned.

“Yes, Beardo?”

“What happened to him?” Jack asked cautiously because she didn't know how Trevor would react.

His smile disappeared immediately and Trevor leaned forward frowning. “It doesn't matter, don't ask me again.” He said lowly with a dark threat hidden beneath his words.

“ _That won't be acceptable, Zed,_ ” Geoff said as Trevor nearly growled in response.

“Just because I'm helping you take down the Corpirate does not mean I'm obligated to tell you _everything_ about us! I'd like some privacy and so would he.” Trevor snapped and clenched his jaw, glaring at the back of Jack’s head even though she wasn't the one he was angry at.

“ _Listen, you--_ ” Geoff started.

Jack interrupted him, “Before Ramsey yells at you, the only reason we’re asking you about what happened to Dooley is because we need to know if he needs medical attention or not.”

“He doesn't need any medical attention. All I need is ten minutes with him. Alone.” Trevor answered immediately.

Jack glanced at him, “Okay, then Ultimate won't take a look at him. Before you get your ten minutes, however, Ultimate is going to patch you up.” Before Trevor retaliated, Jack continued, “And don't argue with me. We’re just trying to make sure you both don't die on us. We didn't just have this heist for you to fuck it all up.”

Trevor huffed and slumped back on the seat, wincing at the added pressure he accidentally put on his wounds. “Fine.” He said bitterly as the rest of the car ride to the safe house was silent.

Jack turned off the car and sighed, “We’ve arrived, Ramsey. How's the other safe house?”

“ _It's bad over here, Architect. The safe house is trashed and there's no sign of Free and Fügz anywhere. Her equipment is gone and there's a pile of bandages on the floor which probably means that Free took off the bandages on his wing to fly away. With or without Fügz, we’re unsure, but Free wouldn't leave her behind._ ”

“Do you think the Corpirate did it?” Caleb asked and got out of the car, opening the back door to quickly check Trevor’s injuries.

Michael scoffed, “ _Of course the Corpirate fucking did it! Who in their right minds would want to mess with us?_ ”

“As you do have a fair point, Mogar, there's various gangs out there who would willingly attempt to cause our downfall. The Corpirate included. They'd want the satisfaction that they're better than us.” Trevor said and sneered, “But of course, Ramsey got the best of the best, so most likely Free and Fügz are alive. They could take care of themselves.”

“ _You don't know them like I do._ ” Lindsay snapped.

“No, I don't know them like you do, but I know them more than you that's for sure. Ow! What the fuck?” Trevor glared at Caleb who rolled their eyes and smirked.

“ _What the hell does that mean?_ ” Michael asked.

“Hey, just as a reminder, I'm bleeding to death over here. Can we continue this conversation later?” Trevor asked as Caleb purposefully pressed on his bullet wound again. “Hey! Okay no seriously, stop that.”

Caleb smiled, “I'm just feeling for the bullet.”

“You better not put your fucking finger in there,” Trevor said.

“ _Okay, that's it. I'm turning off my earpiece. I've had enough of his creepy ass talking._ ” Michael said as his line went dead.

“ _Vagabond?_ ” Geoff called.

“ _Still on the line, I'll tell you if we die or not,_ ” Ryan answered.

“I hope Taurus loves hearing me talk about how I'm going to murder the fuck out of him once we singlehandedly defeat the Corpirate,” Trevor said loudly on purpose. Jack swiftly turned to look at him with wide eyes with a look that could only be described as _What the fuck are you doing, you asshole?_ Trevor only shrugged with an innocent smile, “What? We’re all thinking it.”

“ _Zed, just… just shut up._ ” Geoff said, sighing. “ _You’re not even a part of the Crew._ ”

“Aw Ramsey, you could've just--What the fuck?!” A random fire erupted on Trevor’s clothes as Caleb jumped back and the torturer jumped out of the car. He pulled off his shirt and threw it on the ground, stomping on it furiously and stopped abruptly. Trevor looked up and glared, “Okay, you could've killed me there!”

“Brownman?” Jack called in confusion and got out of the car to get a better angle and it was indeed Ray who was stood in front of Trevor. “What are you doing here?”

“Ramsey said to shut up, so I suggest you shut the hell up,” Ray said to Trevor and walked forward, picking up the still burning shirt and offering it to the torturer who continued to glare at him. Ray frowned and raised his other hand snapping his fingers as the flames were extinguished immediately.

“Or what? You'll burn me alive?” Trevor challenged as Ray narrowed his eyes.

“If I have to.”

“Okay Human Torch, calm down there. I was only joking.”

“You're lucky I misplaced Taurus’s earpiece, so he didn't hear this whole plan of yours to free Dooley.”

“Honestly, I was just trying to figure out how long it would take me to force you to come out of hiding. Step one was getting Mogar to switch off his earpiece somehow and step two was talk about the White Fang because that always gets you riled up.” Trevor explained with a smug grin. “You didn't have to burn my shirt, though,” Trevor said and took the shirt throwing it on.

“Oh trust me, it was completely necessary,” Ray said.

“ _Roll call. Obviously, we have to find out where Fügz and Free are._ ” Geoff said suddenly.

“Architect.”

“Brownman is present,” Ray said.

“Ultimate’s here.”

“ _Mogar and I are still alive,_ ” Ryan answered.

“ _I'm literally right next to you, Ramsey,_ ” Lindsay spoke.

“I'm here, obviously,” Trevor said.

There was silence for a while because they all knew one more person hadn't answered. “ _Axial?_ ” Lindsay asked in concern. No one answered her. “ _Axial, I fucking swear if you don't answer me right now, I'll kill you._ ” There was silence. “ _Damnit…_ ”

“Tuggey, calm down. We’ll find him.” Jack said softly, but Lindsay was fuming. They all could tell.

“ _Brownman?_ ” Geoff called expectantly.

“I didn't see him leave the warehouse. Do you want me to check?” Ray asked.

“ _Yeah, that'd be good. As of right now, the heist has ended._ ” Geoff replied and Ray nodded.

Ray turned to leave, but stopped and turned back around. “Tell Michael I was here and I'll slit your throats.” Then, he departed.

The three watched him leave for a couple of moments before Caleb grabbed Trevor’s arm and pulled him towards the safe house. “Ow ow ow! That's my arm that's attached to a stabbed shoulder!”

“Oh don't be such a big baby,” Caleb said and opened the door, shoving Trevor inside who almost unceremoniously fell to the ground but quickly caught himself and stood up straight looking back at Caleb with a raised brow. “Jack, do you need help carrying him in here?”

Jack shook her head, “Nope, I got him.”

Caleb nodded and put a door stop under the door as Jack started getting Jeremy out of the car. Trevor piped up, “Take him to the torturing room or the basement! Either is good!”

Caleb rolled their eyes and led him to the infirmary room, “Sit on the bed and take off your shirt.”

Trevor smiled slyly, “You want me to strip for you, Caleb? You want a lap dance too?”

“ _Someone disconnect his earpiece right now!_ ” Geoff yelled.

“ _Please do!_ ” Lindsay agreed.

“ _I really don't want to listen to him talk anymore,_ ” Ryan said.

Trevor laughed and pulled off his earpiece, turning it off. “I'm offended that you all hate me. I'm a very lovable person!”

“ _Lovable is a word for it…_ ” Lindsay mumbled.

“ _Jesus Christ… Caleb, turn off yours too._ ” Geoff said as Caleb did as they were told.

°~∆∆∆~°

Ryan leaned on the wall next to the stairs that led upstairs. Currently, he was in the basement surveying Trevor and Jeremy who still wasn't awake. Geoff told him to watch them and to make sure they weren't plotting something against them. When Ryan approached Trevor about it, he assumed he'd be hostile to him, but the torturer just smiled and agreed without question. “I like it when people watch.” Trevor had said to him and Ryan was about done with the torturer from this point on. He _hated_ him to the core and he was damn annoying and a creepy ass motherfucker. Though, Geoff insisted that what Trevor did with his time with Jeremy would determine if he would stay in the Crew or not. Ryan was mostly sure no one else liked the kid, but the assassin decided to keep quiet. Geoff’s judgment was pure and it's worked out well.

So far, anyway.

“Hey Ryan, can you get me a small mirror?” Trevor asked suddenly and dully looked up at him tilting his chair almost far enough to fall backward. Almost. Trevor bent his leg as the chair flew back onto its four legs and he smiled innocently at the assassin. “Please?”

“Why?” Ryan asked.

“I need it for what I'm about to do.”

“And what is that?”

“You'll see,” Trevor said with a grin.

“No.”

“Why?” Trevor asked, perking up.

“Because the moment I leave the room, you'll close and lock the door and do _something_. In short, you'll backstab us.”

“Aw, you still don't trust me,” Trevor replied, smiling. “That's cute.”

“Shut up and do what you're going to do,” Ryan said in irritation.

“But I need a mirror, Rye!” Trevor whined.

Before Ryan could yell at him angrily, the door opened and Geoff poked his head in. “Jesus Christ, here's your mirror.” Geoff held out his hand and gave the mirror to Trevor who smiled innocently.

“Thanks, old man!” Trevor set it face down on the table and raised a brow when Geoff stepped in. “Staying?” He asked.

Geoff shrugged, “It's better if I do. When will he wake up?”

It was Trevor’s turn to shrug, “Depends on the day. It's random all the time.”

“How did you get him unconscious then?” Ryan asked in confusion. There was no way a normal human being forced people to go to sleep at just the sound of their words. He was definitely a Special.

“Maybe _he's_ a Special and it's his ability. You'll never know because I won't tell you. If he tells you, then good for you.” Trevor replied.

“Why would he have an ability like that?” Geoff asked and Trevor shrugged again.

“I don't fucking know. That's a great question for whoever gives us these abilities. Hell, I know someone who can create multiple limbs on command and control each one. It fucking comes out of his back, which is creepy as hell. It's like I can see his spine.” Trevor explained and was about to say something else, but Jeremy started to stir. “Alright, I'll need you to shut up and pretend you aren't here.”

“He’ll still see us.” Ryan pointed out.

“No, I mean, don't pay attention to him. He can see you, I just don't want you giving him any attention. It's what he wants.” Trevor said as Jeremy lifted his head and groaned.

Jeremy lifted his hand to massage his head, but he quickly came to the realization that he was chained to the table that was bolted to the ground and sitting on a chair that was also bolted to the ground. He looked around and his eyes landed on Trevor who crossed his arms. Instant recognition of the man sitting in front of him made Jeremy smile slyly. “How are ya, Zed?”

“Terrible. You?” Trevor asked with a frown.

“Fantastic!” Jeremy sneered as Trevor narrowed his eyes.

Trevor uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the table calmly, “Okay, just so you know, I'm a professional torturer. So I'm going to ask you questions and you're going to answer them honestly. Unless, of course, you want the answers screaming out of that mouth of yours.”

“Do your worst, Zed. I can handle it.”

Trevor straightened up, “What's your full name?”

“Aries Shaw,” Jeremy answered with a smirk as Ryan and Geoff shared a confused look, but continued to stay silent. Wasn't the person they were trying to save Jeremy?

“How old are you?” Trevor asked.

“Thirty-two.”

“Where were you born?”

“Los Santos, California.”

“When did you join the business?”

“Age twenty-seven.”

“Why?”

Jeremy shrugged, “It sounded like fun.”

“Who do you work for?” Trevor’s questions were gradually rising in volume and anger.

“The Corpirate.”

“How long have you been with him?”

“Five years.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Two.”

“Who raised you?”

“My father.”

“What are your hobbies?”

“Killing people,” Jeremy said with a dark smile that made Trevor wince and frown.

“Why?”

“Because it's fun.” Trevor turned and sighed, running a hand through his hair as Jeremy laughed. “What? Are you bothered by the fact that I've answered every single question of yours honestly and without hesitation? My boss said that you'd hate it. Looks like he was right.”

“The Corpirate doesn't know shit about me.” Trevor deadpanned and slammed his hands on the table. “And you're _not_ Aries Shaw!”

Jeremy chuckled and leaned back in the chair, “See? You're angry.”

Trevor gritted his teeth and shook his head, “You're not Aries Shaw and you never will be.”

“Does it bother you when I tell you everything about me? ‘Cause I can do that all day and you won't silence me because I can see it in your eyes that you're afraid to hurt me. You're afraid to touch me. I'm right, aren't I?”

“Not even close,” Trevor answered, scoffing. Ryan frowned. Trevor was lying and Ryan and Geoff could tell. It was clear as day that Trevor wouldn't hurt him. Trevor would do anything to make Jeremy talk, except for hurting him. Neither of them wanted to interrupt, though. “You're not Aries Shaw. Aries Shaw died two days ago from a seizure.”

Jeremy raised an unimpressed brow, “Are you trying to use your lame ass mind tricks on me again? I told you, it's not going to work.”

“I don't fucking have any mind games.” Trevor snapped angrily.

“I mean I'm right here, aren't I? Whoever you think I am is probably long gone. They're probably already dead and I look like them, so you're hoping you could find them again somehow. However, I'm the closest you're going to get to getting them back.”

“Shut up,” Trevor said through grit teeth.

Jeremy sneered, “See? I am right. You're reminiscing and you're trying to hold onto them, but they're just out of your reach. You want them to come back, but I'm in your way.” Jeremy laughed, “Guess what, Zed? They're not coming back!”

Trevor curled his hands into fists and glared at Jeremy who had a smug grin plastered on his face. Geoff and Ryan exchanged unsure looks as Ryan debated whether or not he should hold back Trevor before he did something rash.

“Ooh, everyone’s thinking loudly.” Jeremy said, “Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout guys?”

“Are you allergic to anything?” Trevor asked suddenly.

“Yeah, why?” Jeremy asked, a little caught off guard by the sudden question.

“Good, what are you allergic to?”

“Why the fuck does it matter?”

“You said you were supposed to answer all of my questions truthfully and get me riled up. It matters because if I give you peanuts, then you'll surely die from it. If you die from it, then I give up.” Trevor explained calmly as Ryan frowned. Jeremy never said that he was allergic to peanuts.

“Then go get your fucking peanuts,” Jeremy said and sat back.

Trevor smirked, “Vagabond, can you get some peanuts?” Ryan turned to Geoff who nodded as Ryan left the room to retrieve the peanuts.

“Are you trying to kill your friend, Zed? You wouldn't want that since you're so close to getting them back. Oh wait, I forgot, they're dead.” Trevor stayed silent and waited patiently for Ryan to come back which annoyed Jeremy who wanted to annoy the torturer more, but obviously couldn't.

Soon enough, Ryan came back with a can of peanuts and handed the can to Trevor. “Thanks,” Trevor said flatly and approached Jeremy who frowned. Opening the can, Trevor took one peanut out, “Alright, this is how this is going to work. You're going to eat this peanut and we’re going to wait and see if you die or not. If you do, then you die with the satisfaction of you being right. If you don't die, then I'm right and you're not Aries Shaw.”

“You're not killing me with a fucking peanut!” Jeremy protested.

Trevor smirked, “Then hope you're not allergic.” Before Jeremy could say anything else, Trevor popped the single peanut into his own mouth and grabbed a handful of Jeremy’s hair, forcing his head back and shoving the peanut can into his mouth as peanuts fell into his mouth and Jeremy gagged.

“That's a weird form of torture,” Geoff mumbled as Trevor forced Jeremy to chew.

Ryan chuckled, “He's a professional, Geoff. He knows what he's doing, despite his childish ways of doing it.”

Trevor took a step back, “See? You're not dead. You're wrong.”

Jeremy looked up at him in disbelief, “You fucking shoved peanuts down my fucking throat! I was being choked to death! And me not dying is not proof enough that I'm not your fucking friend!”

Trevor smiled and leaned over the table, “On the contrary, Shaw, it’s proof enough already.” Trevor grabbed the mirror and stood it up as Jeremy looked at the mirror with wide eyes. “Your name is Jeremy Dooley. You're 25. You were born in Boston, Massachusetts. You joined the business when you were fifteen because it was the only way we could make ourselves useful. We don't work for anyone, but ourselves and we’ve been doing this for about ten years. Your father raised you. Your hobbies are composing music, reading, and playing video games because it calms your nerves.” Trevor was huffing by the end of it as Jeremy looked up from the mirror at the torturer.

“Trevor?”

The older smiled and sighed in relief, “Welcome back, bud. It's time to sleep now, though.” Jeremy’s eyes fluttered shut and he fell asleep. Trevor straightened up and looked over at the other two in the room, “I'll patch him up.”

“What did you do?” Geoff asked in confusion. It looked like he had just witnessed a witch’s ritual.

“I brought him back, I healed him. He's not Aries Shaw anymore.” Trevor said simply and grabbed the cart of medical supplies, rolling it over to Jeremy and starting to clean the other’s wounds.

“Are you… crying blood?” Ryan asked skeptically and pointed at Trevor’s eye. The younger’s hand shot up to his left eye and wiped away some liquid off his face. When he looked to see what it was, he was mildly surprised to see blood on his hands.

“No, I'm not crying blood. Too much blood pumping through me causes old wounds to reopen.” Trevor explained vaguely as Geoff frowned.

“So then the stitches you just got?” Geoff questioned with a raised brow.

Trevor sighed, “Yeah, they've opened back up.”

Geoff cursed under his breath and turned to Ryan, “Call Caleb after I beat Trevor’s ass.” Ryan rolled his eyes and left the room as Trevor continued to clean Jeremy’s wounds. He wasn't too badly hurt thankfully. Geoff crossed his arms over his chest and opened his mouth to speak, but Trevor spoke first.

“Is that your final answer?” Trevor asked with a raised brow.

“You can read other’s minds,” Geoff said simply.

“Wow, only one day and you figured it out already. I underestimated you, old man. But if possible, this is between us.”

“Dooley knows?”

“Jeremy.” Trevor corrected.

Geoff sighed and corrected himself, “ _Jeremy_ knows?” Trevor simply nodded and rolled the cart away when he was done cleaning Jeremy’s wounds. “You do know that you're going to have to tell everyone at some point.”

“Oh, I know, trust me. I'm just trying to draw it out for as long as possible.” Trevor said with a smile, “To give you the extent of my abilities, I can read others’ minds, but I cannot communicate with more than one person telepathically. Does that satisfy your needs?”

“No, because that means you know information you shouldn't.” Geoff deadpanned.

Trevor nodded, “Correct, but I don't wish to use any of that information against anyone. How do you think I got the information on Ryan? That was rhetorical. Anyway, I am not a bad person who takes advantage of people, but I will kill people if I deem them too dangerous.”

“Have you deemed anyone in the Crew so far ‘too dangerous’?”

Trevor shook his head, “No, everyone seems up to par.”

“Even Michael?” Geoff asked in confusion.

“Even Michael,” Trevor confirmed. “He may be working for the White Fang, but honestly, he's loyal to only Ray in the end. Neither of them realized how stupid and oblivious they are.”

Geoff frowned, “Do you also know about--”

Trevor nodded, “Your friend sounds like an asshole. Starting Specialist War II could be a problem for everyone. I'll help you and Ray if you want, but Jeremy’s my main priority.”

“How long have you guys known each other?”

“Seventeen years.”

Before Geoff could ask another question, Caleb stepped in and sighed, “What did you do this time? And why does it look like you're crying blood?”

“Just stitch me back up, Doc,” Trevor said with a grin. Trevor’s gaze shifted to Geoff as Geoff moved to the door, “And to answer your question, old man, yes, I would.”

Geoff’s grip on the doorknob tightened and he closed the door behind him. If Trevor was willing to kill the Crew for Jeremy, then whose side was this kid on anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter clears up some stuff! Any other questions? Feel free to comment! I'm nice, I swear! ^~^
> 
> **KNOWN POWERS SO FAR**  
>  Gavin Free: Bird Hybrid  
> Ray Narvaez Jr: Fire Manipulation  
> Lindsay Tuggey: Chi Manipulation  
> Trevor Collins: Telepathy  
> Unknown Character: Appendage Generation  
> Adam Taurus: Bull Hybrid  
> Max Conaway: Strategy


	15. Touch into the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lindsay needs to find her friends, but everyone seems to ignore her needs. Meanwhile, Trevor is annoyed with everyone.
> 
> POSSIBLE ALTERNATE CHAPTER TITLE: Let's Not Anger the Torturer Further

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year's guys! Thanks so much for reading and staying with me all this time! I especially want to thank a dear friend of mine, Dawn, who continues to write amazingly and stay by me this far despite the decisions I make for this story. Thank you so much, all the loves <333 Also, all the loves to you guys because y'all are awesome <333 I will say this now, we have probably finished the first quarter of this story, so look forward to the rest and I hope the good year will improve my ability as a writer. Anyway, enjoy!

“I fucking swear, guys, if you're all dead, I'm gonna fucking bring you back just to kill you all again.” Lindsay said angrily and hit the desk hard in frustration. She felt the strong urge to smack the computer away, but she resisted and lifted her hand from the desk where a dent and blood was left. “Dammit…” She breathed out.

“Lindsay?” Jack called and gasped when she saw the desk and her hand, hurrying to Lindsay’s side and checking for any other injuries on the redhead. “Tell me if it hurts.” Jack paused her movements when Lindsay placed her other hand on top of Jack’s.

Lindsay shook her head, “I can't feel pain, Jack. Just wrap it.” She said quietly as Jack pursed her lips and nodded, running out of the room to get some medical supplies. Lindsay turned back to the computer and tapped the keys with her uninjured hand.

Jack came back and frowned, shaking her head and going to the other’s side instantly. “You shouldn't be working right now. Get some rest.” Jack said softly and added, “We’ll find them, don't worry.”

“You don't know that…” Lindsay said, looking away from Jack as she carefully cleaned and and wrapped Lindsay’s hand, but made sure that Lindsay still could use her hand to some extent. “Kdin and Gavin are most likely dead or kidnapped and Matt is either in hiding or kidnapped.”

“You don't think he's dead?” Jack asked and let go of Lindsay’s hand.

Lindsay shook her head and curled and uncurled her hand, “That bastard couldn't die even if he wanted to. He's too stubborn for his own good.”

“Kdin and Gavin could take care of themselves surely.” Jack insisted, but Lindsay just shook her head again.

“They're not fighters. Kdin prefers to stay behind a computer and Gavin prefers to talk things through with people rather than shoot first ask questions later. Matt and I've offered to train them, but they always refuse. Any weapon they have on them is for self defense or a last resort that we hope we never get to.” Lindsay explained and sighed, “We don't even know where to start looking for them.”

“How about the Corpirate’s warehouses and such?”

“If he's even the one who took them.” Lindsay said flatly and turned to the laptop. “That doesn't explain Matt’s disappearance though.”

“What do you mean?”

“By now, Matt would've sent a message to me about where he is, if he was kidnapped. That rules out his possible kidnapping. Matt still hasn't come back, which means he's either looking for Kdin and Gavin or he's scouting something completely different. I hate it when he goes off radar because sometimes I never hear from him in months.” Jack sighed and stood, offering a hand to Lindsay. The Chi Manipulator simply blinked at the offered hand then looked up at Jack, “What?”

“You're going to take a break.” Jack replied.

“A break?”

Jack nodded, “Just for ten minutes.”

Lindsay shook her head, “I don't need a break.”

“Only ten minutes. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Jack, I can't--”

“Yes, you can. It's only ten minutes.”

“I can't waste anymore time on useless things.”

“Lindsay, you haven't eaten in two days.” Jack reasoned, “Kdin’s not here to keep you on a schedule, right? She keeps you on track because you can't do it yourself. Do you have CIPA?”

Lindsay shook her head, “No, and no. All three of them took care of me because I couldn't do it myself. And it's not because of CIPA, it's because of my ability.”

“Chi manipulation?” Jack asked.

“Correct,” Lindsay sighed, “Every time I use it, it takes part of my life force. I was careless when I was young, so I used my ability recklessly to the point that I can't even taste, feel, and smell anymore. I use it sparingly now. Only for special situations.”

“Special situations?” Jack asked, “as in, Specials _and_ Norms or just Specials?”

“Norms are just as dangerous as Specials. Sure, in different ways, but you don't have to have abilities to kill someone. So to answer your question, both Specials and Norms.”

“Abilities or not, you still need to take care of yourself, so come on.” Jack insisted softly.

Lindsay sighed, “You won't stop bothering me until I agree, right?” Jack nodded and Lindsay sighed again, “Okay…” She stood and followed Jack out of the room and to the kitchen. The two were mildly surprised to find Trevor rummaging through the various cabinets in the kitchen. “Uh Zed…?” Lindsay called as Jack rolled her eyes and starting gathering ingredients to make them all food.

“It's Trevor!” He shouted and kept his main focus on rummaging through the cabinets. “Once again, I gave you my real name, so use it!”

Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, “No,” she said simply. “Calling you by your real name means I consider you a human.” The noise he was making stopped abruptly and he stood to look at Lindsay with narrowed eyes. They glared at each other for a while and the silence was uneasy as Jack ignored them and continued to make something for them. Suddenly, Trevor burst into uncontrollable giggles and Lindsay watched him with a frown. “What the fuck is so funny?”

“You!” Trevor said with a wide smile and continued his giggling fit, clutching his stomach. “You think I'm a monster!”

“Yes, I do.” Lindsay deadpanned as Trevor laughed even crazier. “What the fuck is wrong with you? It's not supposed to be a good thing.”

Trevor’s full body laughter eventually died down and at that moment, Lindsay was irritated. The torturer wiped away an imaginary tear and smiled at her, “Oh, I'm aware that you think I'm a monster. It's just funny how wrong you are.”

“I'm not wrong.” Lindsay said through grit teeth.

“I'm starting to believe it.” Jack added nonchalantly and finished one out of the six sandwiches she was making.

“Starting to?” Lindsay asked in disbelief as Trevor broke into hysterical laughter once again. “Someone remind me why he's here…” Lindsay grumbled.

“Because he owes us and he's the only one who can get information quickly and efficiently.” Geoff answered, walking in and making himself a cup of coffee. “Is he awake yet?”

Trevor’s laughter died down and nodded, “Yes, he just woke up. Ryan’s with him right now.” Trevor turned to Lindsay, “Since Jeremy’s awake, he can help you find your friends unless he doesn't want to help then that'll be unfortunate for you.”

“Unless he knows how to work a computer, he won't be much help to me.” Lindsay said.

“On the contrary, he’ll be much help to you. Promise.”

“You selling me to serve other people, Trevor? This isn't the first time you're doing this.”

Ryan sighed, “He insisted that he should get up off his ass.” Ryan hovered next to Jeremy so he could catch him if he fell.

Trevor turned in surprise and frowned, immediately moving to Jeremy’s side and helping him to the table so he could sit. “You're supposed to be resting.”

Jeremy waved away his concern and sighed, “Can't stay in bed for too long. I get antsy, you know that. What happened?” He asked, sitting down and placing a hand on his head.

The torturer quickly poured a glass of water and handed the glass to Jeremy. “Three days, J.”

“Oh…” Jeremy said in realization and sighed, gulping down the water and setting it down on the table. Jeremy turned to Lindsay, “I'll help you find your friends in the meantime.”

Trevor frowned, “Absolutely not!”

“You were just selling my abilities to her--ah, sorry--what pronouns do you use?” Jeremy asked Lindsay.

“She and her.” Lindsay answered flatly.

“Yeah, you were selling my abilities to her.” Jeremy repeated.

“What's your ability?” Geoff asked nonchalantly as Trevor glared at him, but Geoff promptly ignored the torturer.

Jeremy blinked, taken aback by the question, but sighed, “Psychometry.”

“Jeremy--”

“Don't. He asked nicely and you said you trust him.” Jeremy said.

“Don't put words in my mouth. And I was saying that you could help her _after_ the three days.” Trevor replied and added. “I never said I trusted him either.”

“Right,” Jeremy said, unconvinced. “But to ease your mind, Trevor, I'll rest today and help her tomorrow. It's the least I could do for them. Are we staying?”

“Yes, unfortunately.” Trevor said through grit teeth. “We’re helping them with the Corpirate.”

“Good, I was about done with that asshole asking for our help.” Jeremy stood as Trevor moved to help him, but Jeremy waved him away.

“‘Help’?” Lindsay echoed with a frown. “He's contacted you before?”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Jeremy answered, “That bastard has been wanting our help for three years. He wants us doing his dirty work for him, of course. Getting his hands dirty isn't something he wants anytime soon even though he already has so much innocent blood on his hands. Information is what he wants and he wants us because we’re the best at getting the information. Well, he _thinks_ we’re the best in the city. We’re really not.”

“Don't be modest.” Geoff said, sipping his coffee. “Considering your exceptional work, I'm surprised I didn't notice you guys before.”

“Do you decline?” Jack asked curiously.

“Of course! Every single fucking time!” Trevor exclaimed, “I’d much rather join you bunch of Yahoo!'s than join that motherfucker who doesn't know what the fuck he's doing, especially since he'll most likely turn us into one of his slaves. I won't let that happen, but it is better than the White Fang. At least, I won't get branded.”

The sound of metal inside a bag loudly hitting the floor echoed unsettlingly throughout the safehouse and everyone turned to see Michael standing there with Caleb right behind him. “Michael, there are explosives in there.” Caleb reminded him and pointed at the bag, but Michael promptly ignored them and approached Trevor who raised a brow.

_Goddammit Trevor…_ He heard Geoff think and watched Michael angrily approach him with thousands of thoughts racing through his mind. _For once in your life, shut your fucking mouth._ Trevor smirked at that as Michael frowned.

“Why are you still here?” Michael asked angrily. “There's no reason for you to join the Crew especially since you're completely selfish. You'll get us all killed.”

Trevor scoffed, “Look who's talking.”

“Trevor,” Jeremy warned.

“No, I want to hear every single little asshole sentence this son of a bitch is going to say. Go on, tell me how terrible I am. It seems to be a running theme in this Crew.” Trevor said, looking pointedly at Lindsay who glared at him.

Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest, “That's because you _are_ a monster.”

Trevor looked at each of them, “Would you all take a second to look at each other and tell me once again that _I'm_ the monster here? I’m a murderer, yes, but so are all of you. We all saw what we did to the Corpirate’s men back when we saved Jeremy. Ryan has a fucking reputation on _skinning_ people alive, but _no_. Of course, _I'm_ the fucking monster here. I'm the monster just because you all think I'm the only one who's willing to murder you all because it's _fun_. Take a look around, people! I'm surely not the worst person to walk into this building.”

“You are.” Michael replied instantly.

The torturer scoffed and laughed, “I'm absolutely done with this bullshit. Say what you want, Jeremy and I are leaving. Good luck beating the Corpirate without us. Come on, J.” Trevor helped Jeremy up and towards the front door as Jeremy gave Geoff a sad look.

Jeremy nudged Trevor and motioned him forward, “Go.”

“Jeremy--”

“Don't argue with me. I just need to say something real quick.” Jeremy said as Trevor looked at the Fakes before huffing and walking out of the safe house with his hands shoved into his front pockets. Jeremy sighed and turned to the Fakes, “Sorry, but you're not the first group of people to call him a monster.”

“And are we wrong? I don't think so!” Lindsay shouted angrily.

Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck, “I understand that he's a little… unpredictable, but that doesn't mean that he's a monster.”

“He kills people for fun! Innocent people!” Lindsay argued.

“And so does the Vagabond.” Jeremy shot back calmly and added, “But none of you call _him_ a monster, do you? You're scared of Trevor, I get it.”

“We aren't scared of that motherfucker!” Michael stated.

Jeremy sighed and continued, ignoring Michael. “But no matter how tough he acts, words like ‘monster’ or ‘crazy’ or ‘insane’ won't make it any better for you or him.” With a sleight of hand, Jeremy produced a phone seemingly out of nowhere and held it out to Geoff. “He clearly won't admit it, but he trusts you, Geoff. Call us on this, _only_ if you need us. Considering all of your reputations, however,” Jeremy eyed each of them and continued, “you won't need to. Good luck.” Jeremy said before turning and leaving.

Making sure he was out of earshot, Michael mumbled, “Good riddance.”

Geoff sighed and pocketed the phone, “That wasn't the way any of you should've handled that situation.”

Jack shook her head and went to the kitchen. She came back with red stained bandages as Michael raised an eyebrow and pointed at the bandages, “I threw those away.”

“Obviously you weren't listening, Michael.” Jack said as Michael huffed in response. She walked out of the safe house and quickly called Jeremy who was about to get into a car that Trevor seemed to have stolen. Jeremy looked at her in confusion and stepped out of the car as Jack hurriedly ran up to the car. “Psychometry. You said your ability was Psychometry, right?” Jeremy simply nodded as Jack smiled and held out the bandages. “Can you tell me what happened to them?”

Jeremy blinked stupidly at the bandages before turning to Trevor who averted his gaze immediately, senselessly tapping on the wheel. Jeremy looked back at Jack and nodded, “Yeah…” Pulling off his left glove, Jeremy breathed in deeply and pursed his lips, “Ten seconds, Trevor.” He said as the sound of the car door closing alerted some of the Fakes.

Trevor walked over to Jeremy and leaned on the car, shoving his hands into his pockets, “Nothing more, nothing less. Safe travels, J.” Trevor said as Jeremy grabbed the bandages and was pulled into the past.

_The sound of fingers hitting the keyboard echoed around the room. Tap. Tap. Tap. A very recognizable symbol plastered on the screen screamed death. Die. Die. Die. It said, but they refused even as glass shards flew and bodies piled in. All of them for the intent to kill. To murder. Stab. Shoot. Fight. Fight. Fight. Blood. Blood poured from wounds from both sides and screams echoed in the silent building. Their grave. Oh, the silent grave that silenced their screams. Pure terror as a body was detained and screamed for the other to run. Run. Run. Run. Didn't get far. Captured. Shoved to the ground. Gun to the head. No hope. No shelter. No refuge. No mercy. Bullet in the gun, waiting to be embedded into a body. Then one by one bodies fell to the ground with fatal wounds. Dead. All of them dead. Two were left. Where did they come from? Two were the embodiment of hope they needed. Relief._

Jeremy was pulled from the vision and gasped, stumbling back into Trevor who caught him. “What did you see?” Lindsay asked as Trevor glared at her.

“Give him a minute, will ya?” Trevor replied angrily.

“Trevor, it’s fine.” Jeremy said and caught his breath before saying in between breaths, “They're safe, two people saved them before they were executed by the Corpirate’s men.”

“That explains the closet full of dead bodies.” Geoff said. “Who are these two? Did you get a good look?”

Jeremy shook his head, “No, their faces were blurred. Almost as if they wanted to be hidden.”

“Like they knew you had this ability?” Jack asked as Jeremy nodded.

“So they know who we are.” Geoff said and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Michael scoffed, “Of course, they know who we are.”

“Shut up, Michael, I'm done with your constant bitching and smart ass remarks.” Geoff said. Michael opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when Geoff gave him a stern look. “I get that you hate them, but right now they're our only chance for finding Kdin and Gavin.”

“We don't need them, though! We’re fine on our--OOF!” Lindsay started shouting as Trevor tackled her to the ground and pinned her. “Get off me!”

Trevor leaned down to sneer, “I just saved your fucking life, so shut the fuck up.”

Lindsay scoffed, “We’re just standing here!”

“You took the bullet, didn't you?” Geoff asked and face palmed when Trevor smiled innocently up at him. _I hate you…_

_You love me,_ Trevor thought to Geoff.

“Ow…” Trevor said and removed his bloodied hand from his side as Caleb immediately went to his side and helped him off of Lindsay so they could start working on the bullet wound. Lindsay stood up and dusted herself off.

“Jesus Christ… I work with a bunch of kids.” Geoff said and pulled out his handgun, facing the person who shot Trevor. Everyone else pulled out their guns and aimed at the stranger as Geoff asked, “Dangerous?”

“If they were dangerous, I would've killed them before I let them fire the gun. OW! Seriously Caleb, stop that shit!” Trevor yelled as Caleb rolled their eyes with a small smile.

“Who are you?” Jack asked the newcomer.

The newcomer smiled and holstered the gun, “Do you want to see your boys again?” Their voice was abnormally fast paced and their actions were abnormally quick.

“That wasn't the answer to his question.” Trevor replied.

“No one asked you, Zed.” The newcomer responded with a smile as Trevor grinned.

“Aw, Speedster wants a gold medal for saving the Kingpin’s boys. Cute!” Trevor said.

“Yuck.” Speedster said in disgust.

Jeremy cleared his throat, “Why would you need to hide your faces if you're just going to show yourself anyway?”

“Because it was fun until I realized that you'll most likely know who we are. Perks of knowing the infamous torturers of Los Santos is that we know and can mess with you. Unfortunately, we can't sneak up on you sacks of shits.” Speedster explained.

Trevor threw his arms up in the air, “You shot me!”

Speedster rolled their eyes, “You knew it was coming.”

“You were trying to shoot her!” Trevor shouted and gestured at Lindsay who frowned.

“Yeah, but you wouldn't let her get shot because you're a nice person.”

“I'm not a nice person, I just consider her not a danger to society.” Trevor explained which caused mostly everyone to give him a weird look.

Jeremy waved away their confusion, “It doesn't make sense to me either, just go along with it.”

Caleb shook their head and stood, “Come on, we’re patching you up inside.” They pulled Trevor up to stand and dragged him to the building, despite his protests.

Speedster turned to Jeremy, “I still don't understand how you've put up with him for all these years.”

Jeremy sighed and shook his head with a small smile, “I don't understand it either.”

Geoff crossed his arms over his chest, “I still don't understand who you are.”

Speedster blinked at him and leaned over to Jeremy’s direction, “Are they cool?”

“Did Trevor save her?”

“Who’s ‘her’?” Jeremy simply pointed at Lindsay. “Yes, then.”

“Then they're cool.”

Speedster smiled and clapped their hands together, “Alright, I'm Mica Burton, the Speedster as Zed calls me. I'm a Special and my ability is going faster than the speed of sound as you can tell by my voice and actions. See?” Mica seemed to disappear from her spot and stopped next to Lindsay, “I'm over here now!” Mica said with a wide smile which made Lindsay flinch and back away on impulse. “You guys should come with me, your boys are with my partner. My partner’s cool, but you can't understand him so I talk for him. Come on!” Mica ran off before anyone could say anything as Jeremy sighed and counted down from three in his head. The moment he thought zero, Mica came back and looked at them weirdly, “Why aren't any of you following me?”

“Mica…” Jeremy sighed, “We’ll… just meet you there. Same place?” Mica nodded with a smile. “Okay, give us a couple hours, especially since you just shot Trevor.”

“Zed deserved it!” Some of the others nodded in agreement and she continued, “Anyway, see ya, then! In the meantime, I'll help your hacker find your mechanic.” She sped off.

Lindsay shouted, “Wait! Where's Matt?!” She huffed, “The way she said it meant that Matt’s not with them.” Lindsay shook her head and ran inside, determined to find Matt.

“Today is just a load of horse shit…” Michael said and started walking to the safe house.

Ryan nodded and followed Michael, “Agreed. This was probably the weirdest day of my whole life.”

Geoff shook his head and muttered with his arms up in the air in disbelief, “Kids! I'm working with children!” He followed the other two.

Jack smiled and went to Jeremy’s side, going to help him walk to the safe house. Jeremy flinched away and Jack quickly said, “I won't touch you. Promise.” Jeremy watched her for a bit before slowly nodding and allowing Jack to guide him to the safe house. “Well, today was surely eventful.”

“It'll only get weirder from here.” Jeremy assured and returned the smile, “They've run out of ideas.”

“I guess it's a lot better than getting shot at.” Jack said.

“Literally, anything else is better than getting shot at.” Jeremy agreed. “Though, I'm just wondering if the Corpirate will retaliate the moment he knows we’re trying to overthrow him.”

“Oh trust me, he knows already.” Jack said and added, “After saving you, the Corpirate will be hunting us down.”

“Don't tell me what happened.”

“Why?”

“Give me three days to recover. It's a side effect of my ability.” Jeremy explained simply as Jack nodded in understanding.

They walked into the room Trevor and Jeremy were sharing as Jack led him to the bed and helped him sit. “You should rest then. I'm going to cook actual food so we don't have to always eat sandwiches. It should be done by the time you're awake.” Jack moved to the door and opened it.

“Jack.” The aforementioned turned and waited patiently for the other to speak up. “Can you promise me something?”

“Sure. What's up?” She asked gingerly.

“Geoff told you what Trevor did to me, assuming I wasn't me when you rescued me. He told you that if I touch another person for longer than ten seconds, then I basically become that person, right?” Jack nodded. Jeremy pursed his lips, “My abilities have been heightened and sensitive since birth, that's why I wear gloves and long sleeves and it's also why Trevor keeps telling all of you not to touch me. Yeah, Trevor can bring me back, but that's not always guaranteed. Plus, it takes a lot out of him. So…” Jeremy trailed off and took a deep breath before continuing, “If I'm too far gone, kill me.”

“Jeremy--”

He quickly interrupted, “I know Trevor can't do it, so I need to trust someone else with my life. If Trevor can't bring me back from my… ‘episodes’, promise me you'll put me down. I don't fucking care if we just met, I just know that I can trust you. I mean, we all have to trust each other if we want this to work out in the end. We’re divided right now, yeah, but if we can just get along I know we can stop the Corpirate.”

Jack crossed her arms over her chest, “Are you more concerned about Trevor’s safety or ours?”

“To be fair, I don't know you very well, but Trevor trusts you so I trust you. I wouldn't talk to anyone else about this. You and Geoff are the only reasonable people here.”

“Why are you two so willing to help us?” Jack asked.

Jeremy frowned and looked up at Jack, “Aren't you the ones who came to _us_ for help?”

Jack sighed, “Okay, you got me there. I promise, but the moment the two of you betray us I'm killing you both myself.”

“Okay,” Jeremy responded almost instantly.

“Go get some sleep,” Jack turned and was about to close the door, but froze when Jeremy spoke again.

“Do you prefer that form?”

With wide eyes, Jack slowly turned to look at Jeremy who was studying her almost sadly. Pitifully. “What did you say?”

Jeremy shook his head and lied down, facing away from Jack and pulling the covers over him. “Can you call for Trevor once Caleb’s done with him?”

Jack blinked at the Psychometrist, “Sure…” She said and closed the door, frowning and heading to the kitchen in deep thought.

“You alright?”

The second-in-command looked up to see Ryan standing there with a raised questioning brow and she slowly nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine.” She quickly moved to the other side of the kitchen to start making dinner.

Did Jeremy know about Jack’s past?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, happy New Year's guys! Here's to the New Year and hope it's a good one!
> 
> **KNOWN POWERS**  
>  Gavin Free: Bird Hybrid  
> Ray Narvaez Jr.: Fire Manipulation  
> Lindsay Tuggey: Chi Manipulation  
> Trevor Collins: Telepathy  
> Unknown Character: Appendage Generation  
> Adam Taurus: Bull Hybrid  
> Max Conaway: Tactical Analysis  
> Jeremy Dooley: Psychometry  
> Mica Burton: Enhanced Speed


	16. Official FAHC Hideout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trevor and Jeremy lead the Fakes to their old safe house and meet up with Mica.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So because it's my birthday--Feb 9, if you were wondering--I'll give you guys a gift of a new chapter. I know it's been a while and I'm sorry, I've had writer's block for so long.
> 
> THIS STORY HAS A [TUMBLR](https://specialsofficial.tumblr.com) ASK AND INFO BLOG, YOU WILL FIND EXTRA INFORMATION INCLUDING INFORMATION ALREADY STATED THERE.

_“Whoa, there, Ray! Put that away before you hurt yourself.” Ray’s father said as Ray extinguished the flame in his hand and got up. “Go downstairs before I finish all the food.” His father joked and started walking downstairs, but then looked back at Ray, “Oh yeah, and clean your room.” Ray nodded and started picking up his toys that were scattered along the ground and his bed. The five-year-old boy dropped all his toys in his toy box and closed the top, wondering if the new wood his dad bought worked. He made a fireball in his hand and threw it at the box, it erupted into flames and then died down in ten seconds or so. Nothing else in his room caught on fire since he made a tiny flame. He smiled and ran downstairs, jumping down to the floor passing the two final steps and went to the table. Sitting in his chair, he began eating his food and he and his family ate in silence for a while._

_Finally breaking the silence, his dad asked, "So Ray, how was the first day of kindergarten?"_

_"I bet it was boring." Ray's older brother answered for him._

_"Yea." Ray agreed instantly. "It wasn't fun at all. I thought it would be funner!" The child complained and his face changed immediately when he remembered something. "Oh yeah, I made a friend too! He's one of those Speficals people too, like me!"_

_"There's more freaks? That just makes my day even better." His brother said sarcastically._

_Ray's dad ignored Ray's brother's remark, "How do you know he's a Special?" He asked, curiously._

_"His mom was there and kept telling him to not smile when he was playing with me and having fun. I didn't know why and she told me that me and him were Specifal people!"_

_Ray's parents exchanged looks, "What's his name?"_

_"Michael!" Ray shouted, happily._

_"Ah, shut up, ya freak!" His brother yelled at him, annoyed and bitter._

_Ray quickly silenced, "Will!" His mother shouted at him. "Be nice to your brother!"_

_"My brother?! He's an annoying freak! He ain't my brother, nor is he your son." Will shot right back and grabbed his plate of food and headed to his room. "When you decide to get rid of this lousy excuse for a human being, call me." Will announced before he marched up the stairs and they heard a door slam closed._

_The young boy was silent the entire time and tried his best to stop the tears from flowing, "Ray." His mother tried to coax him, but he ran off to his room and his parents heard a second door slam, this time a bit louder and more forced. Sliding down the door, Ray hugged his knees and sobbed into them, hiding his face from view and letting the tears fall freely. Throughout his crying, he heard knocks on the door and he ignored all of them, hoping that whoever it was would leave him alone. Soon enough, they had left and he had stayed awake the entire night, thinking about anything he could. What did he do to make his brother hate him? Did he upset him? Did his brother just hate his guts because he was a Special?_

_These thoughts then led to hatred towards his brother and before he knew it, he had woken up in a hospital._

°~∆∆∆~°

“Ray,” Ryan called quietly, then jumped away from the aforementioned when a wall of flame attacked him. “Ray, it's only me!” He shouted quickly as the aforementioned ran towards him and covered his mouth.

“Shut up!” Ray whisper-shouted and glared at the older as Ryan did what he was told. After a while, Ray removed his hand from Ryan’s mouth and wiped his hand on his jeans, staining them with paint. “Yuck…” He stepped away from Ryan and turned around, looking around cautiously. “What do you want, Vagabond? And why aren't you wearing your mask for once?”

“Whose side are you on, Ray?”

Ray frowned and eyed Ryan, glaring at him. “I asked my questions first.”

Ryan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, “I want to know who you're really working for. I'm not wearing my mask because we're not in the city and I trust you.”

Scoffing, Ray laughed sarcastically, “Haha! Yeah right! I can tell that you don't trust me. None of you do. Plus, any rival gang can come over and say hi to you.”

“Look, that doesn't matter right now. I just want to know--”

“Why I'm here, yadda, yadda, yadda. I get it. I don't care for a side, Vagabond. I never did. I do what I want. I'm independent, thank you very much.”

Ryan shook his head and said softly, “I don't believe you.”

Laughing loudly, Ray wiped away an imaginary tear, “I don't fucking care if you believe me or not!” He said between laughs. After calming down, Ray continued, “Look, I could care less about what happens to the Crew. If the Crew fails to take down the Corpirate, then Taurus was right about the White Fang being stronger than a bunch of killers smashed into a team, especially since none of you can stand each other. What was Geoff thinking? You'd all kill each other before even _facing_ the Corpirate!”

“You're wrong.” Ryan deadpanned. “You haven't been here long enough to know what we’ve done. We broke into one of the Corpirate’s highly secure supplies deposits _and_ blew up a building full of supplies that they needed.”

Ray shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, “What you did was _foolish_. Going in there to save one guy? Should've left him, in my opinion. Completely worthless.”

“You're the one who gave their files to us.” Ryan fired back, beginning to get irritated at Ray.

Ray laughed, “Yeah, to throw you off. Those two will kill you all in a week. Michael and I may be working against you, but that doesn't mean anyone else in the Crew _isn't_ working against you. Hell, I bet Lindsay and her gang are working against you guys too! Ooh, maybe Jack is too! But you? You're the most loyal to Geoff and I'm struggling to find out why.”

“Do you want to know?” Ryan asked.

Ray frowned, “I doubt you'll tell me.”

“I have unfinished business with the Corpirate. There, now you know.”

“Pssh, everyone has unfinished business with the Corpirate,” Ray said, unimpressed. “The real question is what did he do to you?”

Ryan frowned, “He hired me and he paid good until he realized that I was a liability to him. I was an assassin, sure, but hired assassins always backstab their employers in one way or another. He stole from me before I could steal from him. He gave me scars that would last a lifetime. I have as much motivation to murder him as the next guy.”

“Were you planning on backstabbing him?” Ray asked with narrowed eyes.

Ryan shook his head, “I am loyal to my employers as long as they keep their end of the bargain.”

Before Ray could reply, a voice spoke, “Okay, okay, you two stop gazing lovingly in each other’s eyes and just kiss already.” The sniper and assassin turned in surprise at their newcomer who they surprisingly didn't know approached them. “What? I'm quiet, okay?” Trevor said.

Almost immediately, knives were held to his throat and abdomen. “How much did you hear?” Ray asked with a hidden threat laced into his voice.

“Doesn't matter how much I heard ‘cause you wouldn't hurt me anyway.”

Ryan pressed his knife onto Trevor’s neck as a drop of blood rolled down his neck. “What makes you think we wouldn't? We could kill you right now and no one would care.”

Trevor smiled, “Because the moment you kill me, you lose any chance of getting in contact with Mica. You would lose both Kdin and Gavin. So, go ahead.” Ray frowned and sheathed his knife, stepping away from Trevor and Ryan and sighing. “What? Aren't you following Taurus’s orders by killing everyone who gets in your way? I'm in your way and so is Ryan. Isn't that why you--hey!”

Pulling Trevor away from Ryan, Jeremy stepped in front of Trevor and looked up at Ray. “Megacraft,” Jeremy said simply as Ray and Trevor blinked at him in surprise.

“How do you--” Ray bit his lip and weighed his options for a few silent moments before nodding and walking away.

“Megacraft?” Ryan echoed in confusion.

Jeremy shook his head and started walking towards the safe house, “Don't worry about it. C’mon, it's time to leave.”

Ryan pointed at Ray who was already out of sight, “But what about--”

“He's coming back,” Trevor assured and followed Jeremy who pulled down on his arm. “Ow, that's my injured arm!”

“You're an idiot sometimes,” Jeremy replied and examined the tiny cut Ryan gave him.

“Only sometimes?” Trevor asked with a smile.

Jeremy shook his head and shoved him away, “Shut up and don't talk until we get to their HQ.” Trevor pursed his lips and silently allowed Jeremy to pull him toward the safe house as Ryan followed reluctantly, occasionally looking behind him for Ray.

Geoff was directing the others in front of the safe house, “Jack and Ryan, you two are staying here to watch over the place.”

“I'd advise that we move to their safe house.” Jeremy said and added, “It’s more remote and secluded than this one.”

“Would they let us stay?” Geoff asked as Jeremy nodded.

“I'm not trusting these people,” Michael said firmly as Trevor opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself remembering that Jeremy told him to keep quiet.

“Honestly, it is a lot safer than here,” Jack informed, ignoring Michael. “We need to move a lot if we don't want the Corpirate finding us. We've moved once already, it's time to move again.”

Geoff nodded and ordered, “Alright, pack it up then! We’re moving to Mica’s safe house and don't argue with me. I'm done with all your shit. From now on, _I'm_ the boss of this Crew and _I'll_ be the only one making the decisions!” Geoff walked over to one of the cars and opened the driver side door, “Hurry the fuck up!” He shouted and even went to the lengths of taking out his gun as a threat. Immediately, almost everyone snapped out of their shocked states before rushing inside to get what they needed.

“Geoff,” Jack called softly.

“Don't,” Geoff said quickly, “I'm fucking tired of their shit. I'm in charge here. I should've solidified my position in this Crew the moment I started recruiting. They wouldn't follow me because I let them do what they want.” Geoff tightened his grip on his handgun, “He was right; I'm too soft to lead a gang of my own.”

“Geoffrey,” Jack softly called again. Geoff shook his head and got in the car, closing the door and waiting for everyone to get ready. It’s not like he had much stuff anyway. Sighing, Jack walked inside the safe house to help the others. Once they all piled into the three cars, Trevor led them to Mica’s safe house.

«~•~»

Trevor slowed to a stop in front of a flat field and opened his door, getting out and turning to the other two cars as Jeremy stepped out of the car. Michael popped his head out the window of the car Lindsay was driving. “Where the fuck are we?” Michael asked as everyone else silently got out of the car.

Turning to Jeremy for permission, Trevor smirked when Jeremy rolled his eyes and nodded. “Welcome to the safest safe house you'll ever live in! Courtesy of the Wizard!”

“The Wizard?” Ryan asked in confusion.

Jeremy walked over to the edge of the empty field, “It’s his nickname. You'll find out why soon.” Jeremy shot his hand out in front of him and drew a star in the air, then pulled out his necklace as the star he drew started to glow green. A cross and key were attached to his necklace. He took the key and inserted it into the middle of the star, turning it as the sound of a door opening alerted them. Everyone else was amazed as a pair of double doors opened slowly and the interior of a house appeared through the doors. Smiling, Jeremy turned to the others and gestured toward the door, “Once you meet Andy and get your friends back, we’ll tell you all about this place and what the fuck you just saw.”

Trevor walked over to Jeremy and smiled at him, “I think you're good now. I'll tell you what happened later.” Turning to the others who still haven't moved, Trevor smirked, “Leave the cars, they're covered.”

“With what?” Lindsay asked.

“Just follow me,” Jeremy replied and walked inside as Geoff followed him.

“Geoff, what the hell?!” Michael shouted. “You heard them! It's some magic bullshit!”

“Well no, it's not some magic bullshit, nor is it any Blair Witch bullshit,” Trevor said with a smile.

“Trevor!” Jeremy shouted and continued to walk as Trevor closed his mouth and motioned the rest of the Fakes inside. Caleb looked at the others and shrugged before following Geoff as Ryan and Jack walked in with them. Frowning, Lindsay sighed in defeat and followed them as Michael watched her walk in then his gaze landed on Trevor and it shifted into a glare.

He clenched his hands in anger. “You go in first.”

Trevor shook his head, “If you stay out here, then the cops will find this place. _None_ of us want that to happen.”

“I'm not going in there.” Michael declined and walked back to the cars to get in and drive off.

“Fine, blow off some steam, but it's not my fault if Gavin runs into the streets to search for you.” Trevor turned to walk away as Michael froze and slowly turned to look at the torturer. Of course, the fucking asshole would come looking for him. Gavin would assume that he's dead and would probably not believe it until he found a body. Plus, the last time he saw Gavin, the stupid idiot had an injured wing, so Gavin going outside would be bad.

Michael sighed, “Wait.”

Trevor smirked and turned back, “Yes?”

Michael walked toward the door and purposefully bumped into Trevor while walking by him. “Don't give me that stupid smug grin of yours.”

“It worked, didn't it?”

“Shut up,” Michael mumbled. Trevor chuckled and closed the door as the two followed the rest of the Fakes.

Jeremy walked over to the living room and looked around, “Mica! Andy! You guys here?” He called, continuing to look around.

Mica appeared in front of him with a wide smile and Jeremy didn't look the least bit surprised. “The one with wings has been sleeping ever since we brought him here and your hacker is watching him. Neither of us are doctors, so we don't know what's wrong with him.”

Caleb immediately stepped forward, “Where are they?”

Blinking, Mica turned to Jeremy who nodded. “Follow me, then.”

“Walk slowly, Mica.” Jeremy reminded her before she could speed off. She sighed and walked into the hallway as Caleb followed her.

Trevor started whistling and sidestepped to the right as a bucket of water splashed all over Michael who was behind Trevor. “What the fuck?!” Michael yelled and looked down at his soaking body. Trevor stifled a chuckle as Michael shouted, “You think this is funny?”

“Absolutely!” Trevor said, laughing harder. “High-five, Wizard!” He held his hand up in the air as an invisible force high-fived him and the Fakes looked at him weirdly. “What?” Trevor asked, shrugging as if nothing was wrong.

“Trevor, Andy, stop,” Jeremy warned as Trevor sighed and someone slowly materialized next to Trevor holding an empty bucket. Andy smiled and waved sheepishly at the Fakes, putting the bucket down.

“You asshole!” Michael said and lunged at Andy who disappeared instantly. Accidentally stepping into the bucket, Michael slipped and fell on his ass as Trevor laughed. “Motherfucker…”

Geoff ignored them and turned to Jeremy, “Does this place have a conference or planning room?”

Jeremy nodded, “Yeah, I'll show you. Andy, go tell Mica that they're setting up in the conference room. Trevor, show the others their rooms. We’ll all meet here at seven for debriefing.” Without waiting for a response from either of them, he walked down the other hallway as Geoff and Jack followed him.

«~•~»

Once everyone settled in the living room area, they waited impatiently for Caleb to give them news about Gavin. “So, how does this invisible fortress work?” Jack asked curiously as Jeremy frowned and sighed, taking a long swig from the water bottle he was holding.

After swallowing, Jeremy sighed, “His name was Larry.”

“Was?” Ryan questioned with a raised brow.

Sighing again, Jeremy nodded, “He died a while ago.”

“Jeremy,” Trevor warned and watched him carefully as Jeremy waved away his concern.

“He could go into different dimensions for the fun of it. He never once used it on the battlefield and used it only to protect him and his friends in times of hiding. This was our home base ever since we started robbing places in Los Santos. LSPD could never find us.”

“But they did,” Trevor said and unconsciously clenched his hands into fists, staring down at a single spot on the ground. “They didn't find this place, but they found him. They trapped him in a Negation Room. They tortured him. Made him scream at the top of his lungs. They murdered him.”

“When we raided the station and ran down to the cells… he was already dead.”

“They laughed at us. Mocked us. Told us that it was too late… None of them survived that day.” Trevor mumbled reluctantly.

“The massacre at the police station four years ago,” Geoff said in realization. “That was you guys.”

Jeremy shook his head, “No, that was only one of us.” Jeremy turned to Trevor who tightened his fists to the point that his knuckles were white. “None of us stopped him, though. We didn't want him to.”

“So we're in a different dimension?” Ryan asked, trying to stray away from their past.

“Well, yes and no, Andy and Larry’s abilities combined creates an invisible and protective shield around the building. From the outside, you can't touch it and you can't see it, but it's still in this reality.” Jeremy explained.

“How is this still intact if Larry’s dead?” Michael asked.

“We don't know, we don't want to find out, though. We’re not letting this place get found out by the police.” Jeremy answered. “It's the only thing that Larry left us.”

Trevor spoke up before any of them could ask the lingering question, “His body disintegrated when we found it. I'm starting to wonder if the police did that or he did.” Suddenly, Trevor stood and walked down the hallway as Jeremy watched him worriedly and sighed.

At that moment, Caleb walked in and everyone looked over at him in anticipation. “He's fine, his wing should heal up in the next couple of days, other than that he has bruises and cuts only, and he should wake up by tomorrow. Nothing major.” He assured them as some of them sighed in relief.

Jeremy stood, “Well, that's all settled. Trevor and I have an unfinished job we need to take care of, so if you need us, call us. You have the cell.” He said, gesturing at Geoff. “Only for emergencies, though, we’ll bail you out of a tight spot. If you need anything here, just talk to Mica or Andy.” Jeremy walked over to the hallway that Trevor walked through, but the torturer stood in his way.

The older shook his head, “You're not going with me.”

“Why not?”

“You're still injured and I'm not risking you getting caught again,” Trevor said firmly.

“Someone has to watch your back,” Jeremy argued.

“I watch my own back,” Trevor stated and walked passed him, going to the front door. “This isn't up for discussion.”

“We’re a team!” Jeremy replied and hurriedly followed him. “You're the one who scares them, gets them paranoid. And I'm--”

Suddenly, Trevor turned and shouted, “And you're a liability, J!” Jeremy stared at him in shock with wide eyes and took a couple of steps back as Trevor opened the door. “You'll slow me down and I can get the information a lot faster and safer than you can. You're not coming with me.” With that, he slammed the door closed and silence fell over them.

“Fucking idiot…” Jeremy uttered under his breath angrily and stomped off down the hallway as everyone else watched.

Sighing, Geoff stood and stretched, “Jack, Lindsay, we’re almost done planning the heist, but let's add our new additions.”

“New additions?” Michael asked.

Mica appeared in front of Michael with a wide smile and said excitedly, “He means us!” Andy materialized next to Mica and waved sheepishly.

“They're joining?” Ryan asked.

“Yes, is there a problem with that?” Geoff asked with a threat laced into his voice.

Frowning, Ryan answered, “No.”

“We’re not heisting until we find Matt.” Lindsay reminded him.

Before Geoff could respond, Mica cut in and waved away her concern, “Don't worry, if he's in the city, I'll find him in seconds!” With that, Mica sped off before any of them could say anything.

“Let's get to it then,” Geoff said and clapped his hands together.

Lindsay blinked, “She doesn't even know what he looks like.”

“She’ll be back in a couple of seconds,” Geoff assured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> REMEMBER THERE IS NOW A [TUMBLR](https://specialsofficial.tumblr.com) FOR THIS STORY THAT INCLUDES INFORMATION ABOUT EACH OF THE CHARACTERS, SUMMARIZED VERSIONS OF EACH CHAPTER, ETC.
> 
>  **KNOWN POWERS**  
>  Gavin Free: Bird Hybrid  
> Ray Narvaez Jr.: Fire Manipulation  
> Lindsay Tuggey: Chi Manipulation  
> Trevor Collins: Telepathy  
> Unknown Character: Appendage Generation  
> Adam Taurus: Bull Hybrid  
> Max Conaway: Tactical Analysis  
> Jeremy Dooley: Psychometry  
> Mica Burton: Enhanced Speed  
> Andy Blanchard: Invisibility  
> Larry Matovina: Dimensional Manipulation


	17. Ready to Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff and several of the others meet up with Taurus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long two-month wait. I'm extremely tired and have writer's block and I'm trying to make sure that I don't mess up this story. It's busy and I'm trying my best, I apologize.

_”Gavin!” The voice was distant and quiet._

_”Where are ya?!” It was getting closer._

_”Gavin!” How did it know his name?_

_”You here?!” That voice… It was familiar._

_”Please answer me!” Where did he hear it before?_

_”Gav please!” Years ago… It's been years since he last heard that voice._

_”Gav? Finally, I found you…” The voice was quieter and sounded relieved. Who was it?_

_”Long time, no see, B.”_

Gasping, Gavin’s eyes opened and he sat up abruptly, looking around frantically. “B?” He called desperately, “Where are you?” Instantly, there were hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at them. They were talking, but Gavin couldn't understand what they were saying. “What?” He asked and took a moment to calm down, controlling his breathing.

“Gavin, it's okay. You're fine.” Caleb said calmly and waved their hand in front of him. “It was just a nightmare.”

The hybrid shook his head, “No, not a nightmare.” Gavin smiled, “He's coming back.”

“Who?”

“My boyfriend,” Gavin said gleefully as Michael perked up from his position next to the door and uncrossed his arms.

“Boyfriend?” Michael echoed, his voice cracking slightly as Caleb frowned and gently forced Gavin to lie back down.

“I think you need to rest some more, you don't have a--” Caleb started.

Gavin shook his head and sat back up, “I have one, I just never said I did. He's back in England, fighting in the army.” The sound of the door slamming closed made the two of them look over, but Michael wasn't there anymore. “What did I say?”

Caleb shook their head and looked back at Gavin, “A lot’s happened.”

“What did I miss?” Gavin asked curiously.

“What was the last thing you remember?”

“Kdin and I were back in the safe house while you guys were rescuing Jeremy, then… then Kdin and I were--were attacked! Is she okay?” Gavin asked worriedly.

Caleb nodded, “She's fine, Gav.”

The hybrid frantically looked around, “Where is she? Why isn't she here, Caleb?”

Caleb softly shushed him and said calmly, “She's doing her job right now, tracking Ray and scouting all of the Corpirate’s major warehouses and frequented places. She's fine.” Caleb assured gently.

“Did we succeed?” Gavin asked, calming down a bit.

Caleb nodded, “Yeah, we did. We got Jeremy back and everyone’s safe. Well… almost everyone.” They added, rubbing the back of their neck sheepishly.

Gavin sat up with a frown, “What do you mean? What happened?”

“Matt’s missing, we have no idea where he is. Mica’s trying to find him now. That is if he's still in the city. Also, Trevor’s on assignment elsewhere, we don't know his status right now.”

“Who's Mica and why wouldn't he still be in the city?”

Caleb pursed their lips, “Right, uh, we have some new members, Mica and Andy. They're both Specials. Mica’s fast and Andy can go invisible. I don't know anything about Matt, so I don't know what he's doing.”

“Specials?” Gavin asked for confirmation and Caleb nodded. Gavin looked away and sighed, thoughts racing through his mind before saying, “No one bothered to keep an eye on Trevor?”

Caleb shook their head, “He didn't want any help. Said he could do it himself.”

“Jeremy didn't go with him?”

“As a matter of fact, Trevor yelled at him and said he was a liability.” Caleb sighed and shook their head, “That isn't how he should've handled that. Extend your wings for me, please.”

“How's Jeremy?” Gavin stretched his wings slowly and experimentally. It ached, but it didn't hurt. Plus, stretching his wings out would let Caleb know if they needed to do anything else.

“I don't know, no one’s seen him leave his room since Trevor left.” Caleb examined the other’s wings. “Is it okay if I--”

“I know you're a damn doctor, but you don't have to ask permission to touch my wings every single time you check me,” Gavin said, a hint of irritation laced into his voice. Caleb sighed and nodded, gently touching Gavin’s feathered wings as the hybrid winced every now and then. “Good?”

They nodded, “We’ll give it one more day. I haven't worked with hybrids before, so I'm just trying to be cautious.” Caleb informed and stood, moving to the sink and washing their hands thoroughly.

Watching them silently, Gavin internally sighed and shifted his gaze to his lap as his wings curled around him. Closing his eyes and listening to the sound of running water, Gavin slowly opened his eyes when the faucet turned off as his eyes burned. The sound strangely calmed him and he was disappointed when it stopped. He looked over at Caleb who moved to the cabinets and shifted things around trying to organize things. “Your ability is precognition,” Gavin said unexpectedly as Caleb froze and slowly turned to face Gavin who looked away and pursed his lips. “You have visions of the future while you sleep, but lately… you've been having these visions in broad daylight. You thought it was just Deja Vu, but… know it wasn't.”

“How…?” Caleb trailed off and slowly walked towards Gavin who continued and looked out the window.

“The first time you had a vision in broad daylight was when Kdin died in my arms. You saw that coming an hour before it actually happened.” Caleb’s eyes widened. “The second time was when you _saw_ Ray burn down the safe house, so you got Kdin out of there as quickly as possible.” Gavin’s voice sounded hollow and flat like it was a recording. “Then you saw Trevor holding Geoff at point blank range and shot him dead. You stopped that. You stopped tragedies from happening and you _still_ don't think you're a Special?”

“Gavin,” Caleb called and placed a hand on the other’s shoulder as Gavin blinked rapidly and looked at the medic with a frown. His eyes were golden yellow.

Gavin shook his head as his eyes started to shift back to green. “Sorry, I'm… I’m just going to go to sleep.” Gavin lied down and threw the blanket over himself as his wings got into a comfortable position.

“How did you know?” Caleb asked as the hybrid just shook his head. Sighing, Caleb stood and turned off the nightstand lamp casting a black shadow over the entire room, moving to the door and opening it. The light peeked in as Caleb slightly turned their head, “Good night, Gav…” With that, they softly closed the door and left Gavin in a pitch black room with racing thoughts overflowing his mind.

How did he even know all that information?

«~•~»

“Andy, for the last time, I don't fucking care what he says, he's being a fucking idiot and if he dies, I'll fucking laugh over his grave because--” Jeremy stopped himself and froze for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath.

He looked up at Andy when the other signed, “Because you're always right?” With a frown, Andy approached the Psychometrist, “You hate it when you're right because when you're right, Trevor’s in danger. You won't laugh when he's dead.”

Jeremy walked over to his desk and leaned over it, placing his hands on the edge of the desk and staring at the desk as if it would tell him what to do. “I just--I just… I don't know, Andy.” Jeremy sighed and closed his eyes, gripping the desk tighter. He opened his eyes, “He's been a mystery for the longest of times. I've known him for so long, but I barely know anything about him. He acts out in a range of emotions and I never know how he’ll react to certain things. His motivation for doing _any_ of this… I don't know what it is. I'm not even sure he cares about what he does. I just don't want to see someone else close to me die. I don't know how I'll handle it.”

Resting a gentle hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, Andy waited for Jeremy to look at him before signing, “He can take care of himself and you've seen him do it. You have to trust him. He may not care for his own self, but he definitely cares for us. You know that for a fact.”

Nodding, Jeremy turned away and sighed, “Yeah, I just wish he would realize how big of an impact it would be on us if he died.” There was a knock on the door and Jeremy sighed again, “What do you want?” He asked harshly.

“Mica and Trevor’s back,” Ryan said quietly through the door as Jeremy growled in frustration.

“And I care why?” Jeremy shouted irritatedly.

There was silence for a bit before Ryan answered, “They've got Matt.” Jeremy and Andy exchanged unsure looks before silently agreeing to check it out. Andy disappeared as Jeremy opened the door and walked out to the infirmary, blinking at Matt who was already getting patched up by Caleb.

The mechanic bit his lip and winced when Caleb started cleaning up his wounds. The feel of fabric on his wounds did not feel great and there was just so much blood that everyone was surprised he hadn't fainted from blood loss yet. When Geoff, Jack, and Lindsay entered the room, Matt looked over at Lindsay and smiled innocently, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Sorry?” He said, more as a question as if he was asking Lindsay if it was okay to apologize for his behavior.

Lindsay only shook her head and kneeled down to hug him tightly, not even bothered by the fact that the mechanic was drenched in blood. Whether it was all his blood or not was a mystery to everyone, but no one really dwelled on it at that moment. They cared about if Matt was okay. Lindsay pulled away and punched Matt in the arm as hard as she could as Matt flinched. “That's what you get for fucking disappearing on me like that. What the fuck were you thinking?!”

Matt sighed and looked away from her, “I followed one of the Corpirate’s goons to one of their secret hideouts. On my way there… I encountered someone. Someone from my past. Someone I never wanted to see.”

“It was her, wasn't it?” Kdin asked as everyone looked over at her.

“Yeah…” Matt replied.

“Matt…” Caleb said quietly and stared at the other’s scathed body. “You have stab wounds all over your chest.” The medic slowly looked up at the mechanic, “There's one right under your heart. How are you not unconscious yet? There's just--a _lot_ of blood…”

Matt shook his head and placed a bloody hand on Caleb’s shoulder, “I’ll be fine, just do your best.” Matt assured and looked over at Trevor who spoke as Caleb did their best to patch Matt up.

“You should sleep--”

“Trevor,” Jeremy quickly called before Trevor could finish his sentence. The torturer looked over as Jeremy shook his head, “I think you should stop now. Did you finish the job?”

Narrowing his eyes at Jeremy, Trevor approached him and clenched his hands into fists, “Are you questioning my ability to finish a simple job?”

“No, I'm questioning your ability to keep your calm during a simple job.” Jeremy clarified and crossed his arms over his chest as Trevor pushed passed the other to walk out of the infirmary. Jeremy followed him angrily as Andy and Mica exchanged looks before following the two.

Geoff turned to Kdin and asked, “Who's ‘her’?”

When Kdin opened her mouth to answer, Lindsay placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and replied, “I think it's best if I talk to you about this in the conference room. Matt,” The aforementioned looked up at her as she continued, “Rest, I'm going to need more details later, though.” Nodding, Matt lied down on the bed and closed his eyes as Caleb got to work and Lindsay motioned Geoff and Jack to follow her.

“I'd much rather have it quiet in here please,” Caleb said without looking at the rest of them as Ryan gave Michael and Kdin unsure looks. Michael frowned and waved him away and walked over to the other room to check on Gavin.

Kdin sighed and motioned for Ryan to follow her, “Come on.” Without another word, the two of them left to get back to work.

«~•~»

Michael entered Gavin's room and was surprised to find him still awake and reading. “Aren't you supposed to be resting?”

Gavin smiled up at the other, “Yeah, but I need to catch up on my reading. I've been slacking a lot.”

“Reading?” Michael asked and walked over, sitting on the chair next to the bed and leaning forward curiously as Gavin bookmarked his spot and closed the book.

“Kdin bet me that I couldn't read the whole of Harry Potter in a year.”

“All of them?”

Gavin nodded and chuckled, “I'm already on the last one. The latest one doesn't count.”

“Cursed Child?”

“Yes,” Gavin answered and placed the book on the nightstand.

Michael leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms over his chest, “Well, you have three months to finish--” he glanced at the book “--the second half of the Deathly Hallows.”

Gavin nodded and sighed, closing his eyes briefly as Michael watched him silently. He opened his eyes and looked at Michael, “Are you bothered by something? Because if you are, then you have to tell me. I can't bloody do anything about it if you don't tell me why you hate me.”

Michael shook his head, “I don't hate you, Gav.”

“Then why are you so bothered by the fact that I have a boyfriend?” Gavin asked and watched Michael with pained eyes. “Are you homophobic or something?”

“What? No!” Michael said instantly as Gavin continued.

“But you got mad at me when I said I had a boyfriend, so you _must_ be homophobic.” Gavin insisted and sighed, “I already get enough hate from being a Special with _these_ stupid things.” The hybrid gestured at his wings and frowned, “I didn't have a good life, Michael.” He said suddenly. “I never did…”

“I never said--”

“But you did!” Gavin said quickly, “You assumed that just because I'm happy-go-lucky now that I had a great life! Don't tell me that you didn't say that because you did.”

Michael put his hands up in defense and frowned, “Whoa, okay, I'm sorry for assuming things about you, Gav, but I don't hate you. I'm just annoyed at the fact that--I don't know… that you have a boyfriend?” Michael said as if he wasn't sure himself. “I'm not homophobic, I just feel like it would've been something important to say to me before.” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking away from Gavin.

“Why would I need to tell you that?” Gavin asked curiously.

Michael’s face reddened suddenly when he realized what he'd been saying, “N-Never mind, forget I said anything.” He stammered out and quickly stood, going to the door and grabbing the doorknob.

Gavin’s soft voice stopped him, “Sorry… I'm sorry if I--I annoy you. I know that I can be a little… hyperactive, but I--”

“You're not annoying,” Michael assured and sighed, turning around to face Gavin. “You shouldn't be sorry for anything. You've done nothing wrong. You get excited about things, you get curious about things, you get annoyed about things. It's what makes us human, Gavin, no matter if we’re Specials or Norms. So you be you, Gav, because honestly, that's the best trait you have. Embrace being you. Embrace being a Special.” With that, Michael left the room as Gavin looked down at the blanket over his legs and pondered on what the other said.

Sighing, Gavin curled his wings closer to his body and gently ran a hand through the feathers, smiling a bit. “You sound just like him, Michael.”

«~•~»

Geoff looked at each of them with the exception of Matt and Gavin who were both recovering. All the people he had gathered together for the past two years were before him, each of them was here for the same reason. They weren't perfect, but they were his ideal choices for a team that was going to help him take this city. Although they were the biggest dicks that he's ever worked with, Geoff couldn't ask for a better set of people.

 _Jesus Christ, just get to it. I don't want to listen to this sappy stuff anymore,_ Trevor thought to Geoff who rolled his eyes.

 _Then stop listening in,_ Geoff responded.

 _Right, I'll go ahead and do that,_ Trevor replied sarcastically.

Geoff stood up straighter and cleared his throat as all of the side conversations ceased and they all looked at him patiently. “It's the end of the two weeks, so it's time to meet up with Taurus. This is our team. We’re small compared to the White Fang, but we make it up by how experienced we all are. Ray will be there with Taurus along with others and because of this, I'll be bringing some of you along with us.” He gestured to himself, Jack, and Lindsay. “There will be two groups. Group one will be back up when we meet up with him. Group two will be the rest of us that will stay here to monitor things from here. Trevor, Mica, and Andrew, you three are group one.” Lindsay immediately frowned and opened her mouth to object, but Geoff continued. “Everyone else stays here.”

“Whoa, why are you bringing the new people?!” Michael shouted angrily. “Some of us have been in this gang longer than they have!”

“Michael shut the fuck up. No one asked for your opinion.” Geoff replied instantly which made Michael close his mouth but quietly seethed in rage. “I would've brought Gavin with us, but he specifically requested that he stay out of this one. Caleb, I need you closely monitoring Matt, we don't know if he’ll survive. The rest of you, sit back and relax until the actual heist. Let's go.”

Geoff walked to the door and exited the building as Jack and Lindsay followed him quietly. Mica and Andy exchanged looks as Mica smiled and sped over to them and Andy disappeared to follow her. Trevor smiled smugly and followed them out, “In the meantime, our next target is coming up, Jeremy. I suggest you start gathering information.”

“You won't let me go with you,” Jeremy said as a matter of factly.

Trevor appeared to be thinking about it for a moment and smiled, “You never know. Our next target gets on my nerves which is _really_ bad for him.”

“I'll look into it. For now, just behave, I don't want you guys coming back injured because _you_ fucked it all up.” Jeremy said sternly and pointed at Trevor.

“So?” Trevor challenged.

“Don't speak at all, communicate silently,” Jeremy said as Trevor smirked and nodded, waving goodbye to them before turning around to head out. _Don't die._ Jeremy thought to Trevor who frowned.

_’Course not, I'll come back, promise._

_You better._ Jeremy thought as Trevor approached the others who were piling into the cars and having an argument.

“He's not coming with us! He's going to get us all killed!” Lindsay yelled angrily at Geoff who seemed to be indifferent to Lindsay’s reasoning.

“For the last time, Lindsay, he's necessary to bring. I don't care if you think that he’ll say the wrong thing while we’re talking with Taurus. He won't speak out of turn and you won't question my decisions anymore.” Geoff replied.

“But you said that I would be apart of the decision making! I say he doesn't join us. I say these four cunts shouldn't join!” Lindsay shouted at the top of her lungs to get her point across, but Geoff still wasn't listening to her.

Geoff opened the driver side door of one of the cars and looked at Lindsay, “I did say that, but that was before I realized you were discriminatory.” He said calmly before getting in the car and starting it. _Trevor, get in._ Geoff turned to the other car, “Andy, get in my car, Jack drive the other one.”

Lindsay’s eyes shifted to Trevor and glared at him, “The moment you do something, I'm taking down the monster myself. Count on that, you _Monster_.” She said with such malice--such hate--that Trevor flinched. She got in the other car that Jack was driving and started it as Trevor shrugged and slipped into Geoff’s car.

Once they were settled, the two cars drove off with Mica running alongside them and smiling and laughing widely. Occasionally, she communicated with Andy by attaching glow sticks to herself and cracking them so that she could write letters in the air, but the words eventually ended up becoming incoherent scribbles. Since he couldn't understand what she was trying to write, Trevor communicated between them with his ability. Andy silently laughed in his seat as Trevor watched and shook his head in amusement at them. Geoff smiled a small smile and glanced at Trevor in the rearview mirror. _You okay?_ Geoff asked Trevor who frowned and looked away.

_I don't need a babysitter. I can take care of myself, thank you very much._

_Look, Trevor, obviously, it bugs the hell out of you every single time someone calls you a monster and--_

_Just let it drop! She's right, I_ am _a fucking monster. It doesn't matter anymore, I'll be who I want to be._

Geoff shook his head at Trevor who refused to look at him. _That's not how you should handle that._

 _Yeah, well, I never asked you, did I?_ Geoff sighed audibly at that response.

Andy frowned when he saw Trevor looking away from them and completely stopped communicating with him and Mica. He assumed that Trevor was having a private conversation with Geoff who seemed to be making weird faces in the rear view mirror.

Pursing his lips, Geoff turned his head to glance into Jack’s car and hoped that she was having better luck with Lindsay. He just hoped that she'd see reason so that they could all look past each other's differences and work together as a team.

“You're not seeing it from _my_ point of view, Jack! He's wild and unpredictable! He always says the wrong thing at the wrong time and laughs his fucking ass off about it and then _we_ have to pay for it! He's a fucking psychopath and can't be trusted. Believe me, I'm fucking happy you brought him with us, but not for the reason you're hoping for. I'm glad you brought him with us because for sure, he would've gotten everyone at the safe house _killed_! I just don't understand how you and Geoff can't see this.” Lindsay reasoned as Jack listened silently and kept her expression indifferent.

“Are you done?” Jack asked calmly with a raised brow.

Lindsay frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Are you done ranting about how unsafe you feel around Trevor?”

Lindsay scoffed, “I'm worried about everyone else’s safety. Plus, we’re not working with this so-called ‘Trevor’,” Lindsay used air quotes, “we’re working with a _monster_ that's going to kill us all no matter how often we feed it. Whether we feed its hunger for blood or we actually give it food that depends on you and Geoff.”

Jack shook her head and sighed, “How many times have you been called names because you were a Special?”

Her frown became more apparent and she became confused, “What?”

“Just answer the question.”

“All my life, but I didn't care,” Lindsay answered slowly. “Why?”

“Now, as far as I know, Trevor is a Norm, so how often do you think he's been called names?”

“Why are you--”

“Lindsay,” Jack interrupted sternly as Lindsay sighed through her nose and decided to answer the question anyway.

“Not as much as a Special being called names.”

“Now, I wouldn't be so sure about that.”

Her eyebrows furrowed and she stared at Jack for a while before asking in confusion, “What?”

Jack pursed her lips and stayed silent for a while before continuing, “Trevor is not the average Norm who is a goody-two-shoes, law-abiding citizen and respects everyone he interacts with. In fact, as far as I can tell, Trevor would rather be a criminal than live in a simple house with a simple family with a simple job. What does that tell you about his childhood?”

“He was troubled,” Lindsay answered quietly and looked away.

“Exactly, so I'll ask you again, how often do you think he's been called names?”

“Still not enough because people would've been scared of him. He could be a criminal because it's _fun_ to him!”

Jack smiled a little, “So how often do you think he's heard people calling him a ‘monster’?”

“All his life,” Lindsay muttered.

Jack nodded, “Lindsay, you're not seeing it from _Trevor’s_ point of view. To be completely honest, if I was in his shoes, I would have two choices: Completely change my personality so people wouldn't see me as a monster anymore _or_ show everyone only what they see me as.” Jack sighed, “I think we both know what choice Trevor made.”

Lindsay looked up at her, “I still don't understand what you're trying to get at.”

“All I'm saying is that you should give Trevor a break. He may have heard lots of people call him a monster, but he'll never get used to it. I get that you have beef with him, but Norms can get bullied just as much as Specials can because we’re all human. We may not be insulted the same way, but everyone can become depressed. And please just remember this. Under every dark-filled heart, there's an honest and caring heart. It just depends on if someone decides to push away the darkness from their heart because everyone is strong enough to push it, they just need to realize that they're able to.” Jack said and glanced at Lindsay who silently watched out the window and clenched and unclenched her hand. Smiling, Jack concluded that she got Lindsay thinking about it.

When Lindsay leaned against her seat and looked out the window, Geoff smiled and kept his eyes focused on the road. “We’re almost there, tell Mica to stay behind us.” Trevor nodded and did as he was told as the speedster slowed down.

 _If there's anyone else like me, I can block their ability with mine from attacking or accessing your minds._ Trevor mentally told Geoff who glanced at him in the rearview mirror and nodded. _Don't get too far from me then. No more than fifteen feet. Andy and Mica know this, but you'll have to tell Lindsay and Jack._ Trevor slipped on his hockey mask.

In front of a warehouse on the outskirts of town, Geoff slowed to a stop and switched off the car, getting out and closing the door. He quickly scouted the front of the warehouse and noted that there were two other cars parked next to the warehouse. Upon hearing car doors close, Geoff turned to his Crew and motioned for them to stay back. “Everyone stay within fifteen feet of Zed. Don't ask me why just do it.” Geoff said before Jack or Lindsay could question him. _Tell Mica to scout the area,_ Geoff mentally told Trevor who sent the message as Mica seemed to disappear from her spot and a trail of dust was left in her wake. In a matter of seconds, Mica came back and nodded, confirming that it was safe to go in.

Taking a deep breath, Geoff started walking for the entrance of the warehouse despite Trevor’s internal protest. _Don't get too far!_ Trevor thought as Geoff waved him away.

At the entrance, Geoff looked inside and sighed almost in relief. _Not a trap so far. I see Taurus with a couple of his men. Tell Andy and Mica to watch our backs. The three of you follow me._ Geoff motioned them to follow him and the three of them followed as Mica and Andrew disappeared from their spots. Once they were next to him, Geoff entered the warehouse and walked over to Taurus who stood quietly and patiently in the warehouse. “Taurus.” Geoff acknowledged the other.

Taurus nodded towards him, “Ramsey.”

 _I can't access his thoughts. We’re blind, old man._ Trevor informed as Geoff clenched his jaw. He knew that Taurus would have someone like Trevor, but he had also hoped that Taurus didn't. Oh well, they were prepared for both scenarios.

“You have your team ready?” Taurus asked and started walking in a circle around the Fakes as Geoff nodded and Trevor and Lindsay were on high alert.

“My team is ready, we just need confirmation that you'll be a team player.”

Taurus frowned and stopped walking, pointing the hilt of his sword at Geoff, “You don't trust me.”

“No,” Geoff answered immediately as Taurus started walking around them again in deep thought, nodding as he went.

Taurus stopped in front of his own men and nodded. “Good, because you shouldn't.” Taurus quickly raised the hilt at Geoff again and fired as screams filled the air and the four of them were unable to stop the bullet.


	18. Motivation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And we interrupt our regularly scheduled meeting to find out what the other Fakes are doing at the safe house!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!!!! This fic isn't dead, though my life was hard and I really wanted to punch the wall until I bled, everything's fine now and I'm trying my best to get back on track. I am really sorry and if you guys ever wonder why I'm not posting or some shit, go on the info blog, I do updates and stuff. I won't go into how life screwed me though, but please enjoy this chapter!
> 
> Oh and the first part of this chapter I was really skeptical on because I absolutely hate the accusation one of the characters make and I'm not supporting it in any way. It's supposed to fit into the story and you'll see why soon enough.

_”You did this to me!_

_”You made me into this!”_

_”Into a--a--a monster!”_

_”How could you just leave me like this?!”_

_”I suffered because of you!”_

_”I was laughed at, called names, abused in all kinds of ways!”_

_”What you did to me was unforgivable.”_

_”I will kill you.”_

_”Even if it's the last thing I do.”_

Matt jolted awake and looked around frantically for any danger. His eyes landed on Caleb who was looking at him, almost fearfully. He scanned the rest of the room and saw Kdin frowning at him. “What happened?” He asked, his voice raspy.

“Dude, you just… died.” Michael said from the entrance of the room. “You've been dead for an hour.”

Matt cleared his throat turned to Kdin, “Is she here?”

Kdin nodded and gently pushed Caleb away from Matt’s side, “Outside with Ryan.” With wide eyes, Matt jumped out of bed and bolted out of the room and safe house. He stopped and stared at Ryan and… _her_.

His expression immediately shifted into anger and he stomped over to them, “Ryan, get _away_ from her!” Matt shouted as Ryan turned and raised a brow.

“That's him!” The woman yelled, “That's the man that kidnapped me and raped me!” She practically jumped into Ryan and clutched onto him, looking up at him with tear filled eyes. “Please, help me!” The rest of the Fakes walked out of the safe house to watch the exchange in curiosity as Gavin and Kdin stepped in front of the other Fakes to keep them safe.

With a frown, Ryan quickly shoved her away from him and looked at Matt again. “Explain.”

“Explain?” The woman shouted in disbelief, “Isn't my _word_ enough for you?!”

“To be completely honest, no, I have no idea who you are. I don't trust strangers.” Ryan deadpanned and grabbed the woman’s arm when she stepped away from him in horror.

“Let go of me!” She said, trying to free her arm from Ryan’s iron grip.

Ignoring her, Ryan spoke to Matt, “Now, I may be a criminal, but I'm not exactly a fan of rapists. So either she's telling the truth and I get to murder you _or_ she's lying and you know why she's really here.”

After a moment of silence, the woman suddenly started laughing uncontrollably and held her stomach with her free hand. “Haha, of course, you're not going to fucking tell them! Because you're you!” She laughed once again as her arm started heating up causing Ryan to let go of her arm like he had touched extremely hot, boiling water. Then, Ryan noticed that he was slowly being lifted off the ground and he looked at her in shock as she smiled slyly at him before shooting her hand out to the side, causing Ryan to fly toward the safe house. Before Ryan slammed into the building, Gavin shot up and caught him, slowly gliding down to put Ryan safely on the ground.

Matt turned back to her in anger, “Leave now, and I'll make sure you live for another day.”

She laughed crookedly, it made some of the others feel uncomfortable. She had something up her sleeve, but none of them knew what. “Kill me, don't kill me. It doesn't matter, as long as I get to take you with me.” Suddenly, her mouth started moving and forming words that chanted a spell in a forgotten language as Gavin instantly felt his strength leaving him and lowered to the ground, heaving for air and clutching his chest. Michael immediately went to his side and tried to figure out what was wrong, muttering to Gavin about breathing slowly.

“What have you done to him?!” Kdin demanded and clenched her hands into fists.

The woman smiled, “Specials don't need their abilities, nor do they need to live.”

“You're a Special yourself!” Jeremy shouted.

“Exactly.” She said as she raised her arm with her palm up and open quietly mumbling to herself as the others watched her, unsure about what they could do. Any decision could be a devastating decision. She stopped chanting and smirked before closing her hand as Gavin’s eyes widened and he felt his wings start to rip away from his back. He screamed in agony as Michael clenched his hands and stood up.

_“LET GO OF HIM!”_ Michael yelled loudly and his mouth twitched into a smile. _It's now or never,_ Michael thought.

Unexpectedly, the woman burst into blue flames as she shrieked until she was a pile of ash. Walking up to her pile of ash, Ray kicked at it and spat on it, “Bitch.” He said and looked up at the other Fakes. His eyes landed on Matt’s and he felt anger bubble within him, but he ignored it. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Ray walked over to Michael and stopped next to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Remember not to smile.” He whispered sadly. “I can't promise I'll stop you every time.”

Michael shrugged off the other’s hand and growled, “I can take care of myself.”

Ray shook his head, “That's not what I'm worried about and you know it.” Ray lifted his head to look at the others and sighed, “She found this place because of her abilities. She's a Dual Special. Two abilities.”

“No,” Matt said quickly as Ray turned.

“No?” He questioned.

“She had more than two abilities and she wanted revenge on me.” Matt looked over at Kdin, then shifted his gaze to Gavin who was being looked over by Caleb.

“You seriously need to stop getting injured, Gavin,” Caleb said with a small smile.

Gavin laughed breathlessly, “I can't help it.”

Matt sighed as Kdin shook her head, “Tell Geoff, I need to take care of this by myself. It'll get them all off your tail and none of you will get hurt because of me.”

“It's already too late for that,” Michael mumbled.

“Go,” Ryan said, clutching his arm. “We’ll tell Geoff.”

Caleb didn't look up from Gavin and said to Matt, “You're perfectly healed, so I don't need to keep you in bed. Though, I’ll refuse to question how you healed so quickly. Instead,” Caleb looked at Matt, “you come back and explain to me then.”

Jeremy frowned, “Geoff’ll be pissed.”

Ray shook his head, “No, he won't. Trust me. But, Lindsay _will_ be pissed. Be prepared for that. See ya, Matt.” After saying his farewells, Matt left and disappeared from sight as the others waited for their friends to come back.

«~•~»

Jeremy stepped inside the infirmary and stepped aside when Caleb walked out of the room. He looked over at the bed Gavin was in and saw Ryan leaning on the wall with his arms crossed across from Gavin. He cleared his throat as the two stopped their conversation to look over, “Am I interrupting?” Ryan shook his head and gestured for the other to enter as Gavin looked away and seemed to grip his blanket tighter, but didn't necessarily object. Sighing, Jeremy decided to stay where he was because of Gavin’s hesitation and spoke quietly, “I'm sorry for before. I shouldn’t have acted that way. We just have to be unpredictable and please trust me when I say that I would never do that.”

Ryan raised a brow at him, then turned to Gavin who had shifted his gaze to his hands. “I think you should leave,” Ryan said as Jeremy got the message and nodded.

“Okay, yeah… I'll uh--I'll see you guys later then. Sorry for… for interrupting. I'll just uh--Ima just…” Jeremy sighed, “I'll go… now.” With that, he turned to leave, but the Brit spoke up softly.

“I believe you.” Gavin sighed and finally looked over at him. “I believe you,” he said more firmly. “Trevor’s more erratic and you're more prepared. Yeah, I get it.”

Jeremy turned to look at him as Gavin gave a small smile, “I uh… thanks.” He decided to settle on as Ryan smirked and stretched.

“Well, if you two are done sharing one another’s feelings, I believe we have one thing to discuss with or without the others,” Ryan said.

“What's that?” Jeremy asked, but he already had a feeling about what they were talking about. Well, more like _who_ they were talking about.

“Trevor,” Gavin answered simply. Called it.

“What about him?” Jeremy’s eyes shifted to Ryan when he spoke.

“As Gavin has stated, he's erratic and highly dangerous to everyone in the Crew. Although he probably means well, his actions would likely cause our downfall. Now, I'm not saying that he should leave.”

Jeremy raised a questioning brow, “Yes, you are.”

“All I'm saying is that we need to get him under control before it's too late.” Ryan finished as Jeremy sighed and shook his head.

“Look, he’ll do what I say, no problem, but that's because he trusts me and I'm all he's got left. He doesn't work well with people who are scared of him.” Jeremy reasoned as Gavin flinched. “Some of you aren't scared of him, but the ones who aren't scared are the ones that are making him feel less and less human. Lindsay already causes him enough anxiety.”

“You're not scared of him?” Ryan asked.

The question threw him off and he hesitated, but quickly answered, “No.” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat and said firmly, “No, I'm not scared of him.”

The two of them didn't look convinced and Ryan sighed, “It's okay if you are.”

“I'm not!” Jeremy practically shouted.

“Lad,” Gavin said softly, “You don't have to lie to us.”

“I'm not lying!” Jeremy argued, but still, they didn't believe him. He wasn't scared of Trevor. He's been his friend since childhood and they've had each other’s backs for years. He had gotten used to Trevor’s unusual behavior and learned how to take care of him. The two were inseparable and learned so much about the world together. Jeremy couldn't see his life and future without him, but suddenly he flinched and closed his eyes shut. His eyes burned. A memory--something he hadn't remembered having before--clouded his mind and he saw the destruction. Pure agony and despair flooded the area and Jeremy could _feel_ that something was wrong. A building was devoured in flames and Jeremy swore he could hear screaming in the distance. Piles of dead bodies and he could see the culprit covered in blood and standing above the bodies. They turned and it was… Trevor. He smiled a sadistic smile and fully turned in his direction. There was a knife in his hand. “I made a promise to protect you.” His voice was wrong. It was too low, too monstrous, too sadistic. This wasn't Trevor. “And I will.” Or maybe Jeremy really was blind. Maybe Trevor really was a killer. A _monster_.

At that thought, Jeremy immediately shook his head and stared at the ground in shock, taking deep breaths. “Jeremy?” Ryan asked worriedly and went to walk over, but the other raised a hand to halt him. “You okay?” He asked after a while. “Your eyes were--”

The other nodded and looked up at Ryan, “Yeah, just remembered that I have to check on Trevor and I’s next assignment.” He jogged out of the room as fast as he could and locked himself in his room. Never once had Jeremy ever actually considered Trevor a monster because he wasn't. Trevor wasn't a monster. But why? Why did he just see it? No, it's not real. Trevor’s not a monster and he never will be. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and took out his laptop, deciding to distract himself with their assignment so he wouldn't think about it anymore.

Unfortunately, it never left his mind.

«~•~»

Ray sat on Michael’s bed and kept his eyes trained on the floor as Michael paced in circles in front of him and chewed on his nails in nervousness. “Michael,” Ray finally decided to speak, but Michael cut him off.

“You're not supposed to be here.” He said and his pacing quickened. “Taurus will get angry at you. The plan, Ray. This isn't part of the plan. I told you that I could it handle myself.” Michael stopped briefly and gestured at himself, “Look at me, I'm handling myself!” He started pacing again.

“The plan’s changed,” Ray said simply and refused to look up at Michael in fear that he would see anger or worse _hurt_ in the eyes of his best friend.

Michael frantically shook his head, “No… no no no. Taurus doesn't change his mind. He _never_ changes his mind.” The wildcard stopped pacing suddenly and slowly turned to look down at Ray, “You're lying.” He said, barely audible. “You're lying to me.”

Ray grimaced and shook his head, “I would never lie to you, Michael.”

The other stepped closer and crouched down, “Then look me in the eyes and tell me that you've _never_ lied to me.” Ray frowned and kept the same position as Michael clenched his jaw and nodded. He stood up and ran a hand down his face, placing the other hand on his hip. “So you've lied to me before.” He looked down, “I should've known.” After a while, there was silence and Ray almost thought that Michael was going to forgive him, but then the wildcard swung around and dug his fist into the wall with an angry yell.

Instantly, Ray shot up and went to his side, pulling out his arm from the wall and hurrying to clean up the wound. “Yes, I lied to you and I'm sorry, but we have a solution out of this. Michael, you have to trust me.” Ray looked at him with pleading eyes, but it was Michael’s turn to avoid eye contact.

“Your solution is Geoff, isn't it?” Michael asked and frowned when Ray didn't answer and instead kept his focus on Michael’s wounded hand. “What's he going to do? He can't fix this!” Michael shouted as Ray sighed.

He shook his head, “He's not fixing this. At least, not in the way we're hoping for.” Michael finally looked at Ray whose eyes begged for him to agree to his proposition, but Michael couldn't put his life into the hands of a criminal he didn't know well. Geoff was better than Taurus, but not by much. “Geoff promised me that he would help us. We'd both get what we want.”

Michael growled and pulled his arm away from Ray, “This isn't going to end happily ever after, Ray, you know that.”

“I know, but there's no catch. All I have to do is help him with special assignments outside of the Crew. We'll get what we want, he promised.” Ray urged, but Michael wasn't going to give in Ray could tell already. They both were stubborn, so Ray wasn't an alien to Michael’s behavior.

“You'll die.” Michael sounded so sure it made Ray’s heart ache.

He shook his head and gently grabbed hold of Michael’s hands, careful to not injure him further. “No, I won't. I promise I'll come back in one piece every time. If it's too dangerous, I'll step out.”

“Ray…” Michael choked out but refused to let the tears fall.

The aforementioned quickly pulled the other into a tight, but reassuring hug and quietly shushed the other as Michael dug his face into Ray’s shoulder and gripped tightly to his shirt. “Shh… Michael, it's okay. We’ll both be okay. We’ve survived this long, haven't we?” He could feel Michael trembling and he clutched onto him tighter. “It'll be okay. Everything will be fine.” He continued to whisper soothing words into Michael’s ear as the other cried silently. “You'll make it through this, I promise.”

«~•~»

Caleb walked up to Kdin’s room and lightly knocked on it as a faint voice granted their entrance. Opening the door, Caleb closed the door behind them and walked over to Kdin who was sitting on the windowsill and looking out the window in deep thought. For a while, they sat in silence as Caleb took a seat on the fixed bed and Kdin pursed her lips. She clenched her hands into fists and closed her eyes, “You know I'm sorry, right?” She opened her eyes and finally looked at Caleb who continued to keep silent. “For everything. I'm sorry, I couldn't keep my fucking mouth shut.” Kdin said quietly.

Shaking their head, Caleb cleared their throat, “I’ve already forgiven you. Plus, it was bound to happen. All secrets come out one way or another. I'm just glad you're the one that told them.”

“Yeah…” Kdin said flatly and looked out the window again as a tumbleweed rolled away from view.

Caleb stood and walked over to her, crouching next to her and looking up at her. “Hey…” They said softly. “Will you look at me please?” After a while, Kdin relented and turned to make eye contact with them as Caleb smiled. “I don't blame you anymore, so stop blaming yourself, please.” Kdin only shook her head and looked away as Caleb frowned. They sighed and rubbed the back of their neck, “Kdin…”

“Just stop, Caleb. I understand that you don't want me to blame myself, but you don't _understand_. That is the first time I've ever fucked up so bad that I wish I was ignorant about everything! I betrayed your trust, Caleb! I did something I swore I would never do in this business unless they were a threat. You're not a threat and you're definitely someone I consider a friend, but--but I just--I just… told them. I-it was like, I couldn't stop myself from saying it.” Kdin’s voice lowered to a whisper at the end.

Eyes widening, Caleb looked up at Kdin in surprise and stammered out, “A-are you saying that someone made you say it?”

Frowning, Kdin turned to face them, “Who would want to make me say that?”

“The same person who forced Gavin to say something. Who did you tell it to?” Caleb asked.

“Uh, I don't know… Lindsay or Jack probably. Why?”

“Good, can you get ahold of them from here?”

“Of course I can hand me my laptop. But first, you need to explain what you just found out.” Kdin said to slow Caleb down.

“Special. There's a Special around us that's forcing some of us to say things or do things.” Caleb said and stood up, grabbing the laptop and handing it to Kdin. “I'm not sure if it's one of us or an outsider, but either way, it looks like they know a lot more about us than we know about each other.”

Kdin’s eyes narrowed, “It’s Trevor, then.”

“How do you know?” Caleb asked curiously.

“Remember when he said that he knew everything about us when we first met him. It's definitely him.” Kdin said.

Caleb shook their head, “Yeah, but that can't be the only evidence. We’re going to need more than that.”

Kdin sighed, “You're right.” She started typing on her laptop as Caleb silently watched her. She sounded disappointed when Caleb claimed that they didn't have enough evidence for it to be Trevor. Did she _want_ Trevor to be the one to betray them?

“You and Lindsay both seem to have some unfinished business with Trevor. Mind sharing why?” Caleb asked cautiously as Kdin tensed and her typing spree paused momentarily before she sighed and closed her laptop.

Kdin stood and tossed her laptop onto her bed, walking away from Caleb as the other thought they had said something wrong. Before Caleb could ask, however, Kdin spoke up, “He killed Neal.” She said simply. “Neal accidentally stumbled upon one of Jeremy and Trevor’s jobs and Trevor caught him watching. ‘No witnesses’, Trevor had said and Jeremy tried to stop him, but Trevor was focused on killing Neal. Neal could create unbreakable shields, but it always depleted his energy so quickly. We couldn't get to Neal in time. When we got there, Neal was dead. The next day, Gavin had come back from England and we told him Neal had died from a drunk driver crashing into him. He believed it.”

“Why were you protecting Trevor like that?” Caleb asked after a while. “You could've easily told Gavin the truth.”

“Gavin would've never stopped hunting down Trevor and if Gavin went after Trevor, we would've lost him too.”

“You don't have a problem with Jeremy though?”

Kdin shook her head, “He was trying to stop Trevor from killing Neal, so he wasn't an enemy of ours.”

“But you were the one who suggested Jeremy and Trevor though. If you didn't like them, then why did you suggest them to Geoff?”

Kdin kept her eyes trained on the ground before looking up and walking over to the door. She opened it, “In the hopes that he’ll get himself killed one day.” She closed the door behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well? Did you guys like it?
> 
> Please follow this story's info blog, you'll get so much information that you may or may not already know about the characters and you can ask questions on there too! OH AND MY LOVELY FRIEND DRAWS A LOT OF COOL SHIT FOR THIS STORY! I really appreciate it and anyway, the blog keeps you updated on where every character is and what they're doing. It updates while the story progresses and I'm still trying to fix it up and stuff. Anyway, thank you for reading!


	19. The Calming Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff meets with Taurus as Jeremy has a civil conversation with Ray. Trevor continues to annoy Lindsay who just so happens to realize that he may not be who she thought him to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay first off, before you read, look at the amazing artwork that two lovely people draw for this story. They draw wonderfully and I am so grateful that they like this story so much to even _think_ about drawing art for this! The links are for their Tumblrs and what chapter their drawing is based on. Thank you so much again, guys, I really appreciate the art! ^~^
> 
> [IronFireWindScript](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Chapter 14](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/post/154929072890/merry-christmas-xcaboosertrvb-not-the-best)   
>  [Chapter 15](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/post/155284668340/xcaboosertrvb-you-took-the-bulletdidnt)   
>  [Chapter 16](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/post/157053956885/not-the-best-quality-piece-paper-but-i-drew-3)   
>  [Chapter 17](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/post/159444726435/chapter-17-heres-to-the-update-xcaboosertrvb)   
>  [Chapter 18](http://ironfirewindscript.tumblr.com/post/164321758725/the-aforementioned-quickly-pulled-the-other-into)
> 
> [TreycoMalfoyCollins](https://treycomalfoycollins.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Chapter 15](https://treycomalfoycollins.tumblr.com/post/163605583256/sooo-the-other-day-i-came-across-a-fanfic-on-ao3)

Mica stood in front of Geoff and held the bullet in her hand, narrowing her eyes at Taurus. Taurus smirked and lowered his weapon, “How many Specials do you have here, Ramsey? Keeping them against your will so you could control them? A Norm who wants to control the world. Where have we heard of that before? We’re all thinking of it.” Taurus shifted his gaze away from Geoff and pointed at Jack. “What do you know of the Specialist War?”

“Enough to know that what happened didn't change anything,” Jack answered as Taurus nodded and turned around.

“Alright Ramsey, we begin our first heist planning today. Follow me, but the rest of you stay here, including my men.” Taurus started walking away and stopped to look back at Geoff, waiting for him to follow.

Pursing his lips, Geoff turned to Jack who was to his left and nodded at him. Knowing that Jack was okay with it, Geoff then turned to Lindsay who was to his left and cocked her head in Taurus’s direction. _Trevor?_ Geoff thought to the torturer who was behind him.

_You'll be out of range, but Mica has confirmed that no one else is here. Andy, reports the same. You're good._ Trevor assured.

Trusting his team to have his back, Geoff followed Taurus into a room as everyone else watched. For a split second, Trevor obtained a glimpse of Taurus’s mind and his eyes flicked to the White Fang member to the left of them. Whoever was behind that mask had the same ability as Trevor or at least something similar. When the door closed behind their leaders, Trevor waited a while before yawning and rubbing the back of his neck. “I'm bored!”

Lindsay sighed and slumped her shoulders, “Could you _be_ any more annoying?”

Smirking, Trevor clasped his hands behind his back and nodded, “Yes, I can actually. Wanna see?”

“ _No,_ thank you,” Lindsay said instantly.

Trevor held his hands up in defense, “Hey, you're the one who asked.”

“Just shut up already!” Lindsay said in irritation as Jack shot her a look.

“Tuggey!” Jack said in a scolding tone.

“Why are you getting mad at me? He's the one being annoying!” Lindsay replied as the White Fang blinked at them.

“Does this happen often?” The mind reader asked Mica who shrugged.

“Dunno, I've known him longer and I just met her.” Mica pointed at Trevor, then at Lindsay. “I don't particularly like her.”

“I'm literally three feet away from you! I can hear you!” Lindsay shouted as Mica rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Yeah, but I can be as brutally honest as I can,” Mica responded.

Lindsay turned to Jack, “How can you put up with this bullshit?!”

“Tuggey, calm down and take a deep breath. We can fight about this later, but right now, we’re being professional because we're out on business.” Jack reasoned calmly which made Lindsay even angrier. She would've stormed off, but Jack grabbed her arm and kept her in her place. “Remember what Ramsey said.”

Scowling, Lindsay shrugged off Jack’s hand and crossed her arms over her chest in irritation. “What Ramsey said was stupid. That _monster_ has no business here and I bet that it'll break soon. It's going to kill every single one of us.”

_She's using the pronouns,_ Mica thought.

_This'll be bad. Please don't do anything stupid, Trevor._ Andy thought as Trevor rolled his eyes.

“If you have a problem with me at least say it to my face, ya dumb bitch,” Trevor replied flatly as Lindsay turned to him in shock. “What? If you can say anything you want, I'll gladly do the same.”

_Trevor stop, remember what Jeremy said._ Mica said, trying to defuse the situation.

“This is different, you have no right to--”

“--disrespect you, especially not a cunt like me yadda yadda yadda. Just shut up already.” Trevor interrupted Lindsay who uncrossed her arms and clenched her hands into fists. “Jesus, you're as annoying as an immortal snail who's constantly trying to kill someone.”

“ _I'm_ the snail? _Excuse_ me?!” Lindsay questioned in exasperation. “I'm not the one who fucking runs its mouth on a daily basis!”

“Your claim is exaggerated,” Trevor replied as Lindsay looked at him in disbelief.

Jack sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Listen, if you both don't shut up, then I'll have both of you explain to Ramsey why he came back to see two dead bodies lying on the floor.” There was a small pause. “And yes, as ghosts I'll make you speak or you die again.”

“Ease down on the threats, big guy, I'm just having a little fun.” Trevor piped up as Jack looked down at her body as if she was expecting to see something else. Jack looked up at him and scowled as Trevor raised his hands in a silent surrender. “Touchy subject, I get it.”

The other mind reader leaned toward Mica again, “Whose side is he on?” They asked and pointed at Trevor.

Mica crossed her arms over her chest and sighed, “His own, unfortunately.”

“ _Oh._ That's the worst. Hope it works out.”

Frowning, Mica turned to the mind reader, “You're not like the other White Fang I've met. Unlike, tall, stiff, and silent over there.” She cocked her head in the direction of the other White Fang who at this point could just be considered a statue by now.

The mind reader shrugged, “It doesn't matter, really. Taurus only trusts me because of my ability.”

Mica winced, “I know the feeling.” Mica smiled and gently pat the White Fang on their back. “But hey, if you ever want to sit back and relax, you can hang out with me. You don't want to hang out with the rest of my friends. I just met them and there's already so much drama.”

“You just met them and you consider them your friends already?”

Mica smiled, “Yeah, anyone I consider not dangerous is my friend. Like you, I consider you my friend.”

“You put that much trust in people you meet?”

“Uh yeah. Why? You don't?”

The mind reader looked away, “I never had the chance to, really. And… I guess we’re allies for now.”

“For now.” Mica echoed with a small smile and offered a hand to the White Fang. “Doesn't matter for how long, I consider you my friend. Speedster, as everyone likes to call me.”

The other blinked at the offered hand, then looked up at Mica’s expression. It was friendly, they could tell easily. Their lips quirked into a small smile and grabbed the other’s hand, shaking it gently. “Cadet.” The other said simply.

Mica’s smile grew and let go of the other’s hand, “Well, I'm glad we’re friends, Cadet.”

Cadet smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of their neck, “Y-yeah, me too.” Cadet glanced at the other White Fang member who gave them a side glare as Cadet pursed their lips and shook their head.

Mica scoffed, “Hey Tough Guy, I'm not taking your best friend, don't worry.”

“Hey Speedster, how ‘bout you _stop_ conversing with them?” Lindsay suggested which stopped her and Trevor’s ‘argument’ briefly.

Trevor crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, “Pfft, now that's rude. Let people have friends. Jeez, what else are you gonna ruin?” He asked rhetorically.

Before Lindsay could respond, however, the door opened and everyone looked over to see their leaders step out of the room silently. The demeanor immediately turned serious and professional. Geoff walked over to them and passed them as Trevor narrowed his eyes at him and realized quickly what the two had agreed to. Taurus stopped next to his men and adjusted his mask, “One week, then Phase One begins. Make sure your men are ready.”

Geoff continued to walk as the rest of them decided to follow. Mica waved goodbye to Cadet and Lindsay gave side glares to Trevor who ignored her as Jack caught sight of the glances and sighed. Geoff stopped at the entrance as did the others and he turned to speak, “They are.” With that, Geoff left the warehouse and approached the car he was driving, getting in and starting it up. Everyone else silently piled in as Mica waited patiently for them to start driving.

They drove off in silence as Jack switched on her mic and spoke quietly. “Ray wasn't there.” Almost everyone else’s eyes widened with the realization and worry and concern over their friends at the safe house overtook their emotions.

Geoff gripped the steering wheel tighter and took a deep breath before responding, “He's at the safe house.” That one statement caused the others to start to panic as Geoff continued. “And we’re all about to find out what Taurus’s plan really is.”

«~•~»

Glancing at the signs coming their way, Geoff read it quickly and sighed, switching on his mic. “Jack, we’re making a U-turn.”

_”What for?”_ Jack’s voice crackled through the earpiece as Trevor frowned.

_Geoff, the others are waiting for us at the safe house. There's no time for a detour._ Trevor reasoned as Geoff glanced at him in the rear view mirror and narrowed his eyes.

_No time? You know something I don't, Trevor?_ Geoff asked as Trevor shook his head and pursed his lips. “It's late, we’re spending the night at the beach,” Geoff said and exited off the freeway to drive to the beach as Jack quickly turned the wheel and sighed in relief after making the sudden turn.

Lindsay picked up her phone and dialed Kdin’s number as the hacker answered immediately, “Hey Fügz, we're gonna arrive tomorrow. Geoff decided that we should rest up before getting back.”

_”Okay, be careful. You don't have any defenses out there, so don't die on me.”_ Kdin answered almost sadly.

There was a smile on her face, but it slipped away as Kdin spoke. Lindsay sat up, “What's wrong?”

_”What?”_

“Your voice, it's wrong. Something happened. Kdin, what happened?” Lindsay asked, concern overwhelming her voice which caused Jack to glance over at her from time to time. There was silence on the other line and Lindsay started to think about some scenarios, things that could've happened while they were gone. “How's Gavin?”

There was a sigh before a voice said, _”Bedridden.”_

“Everyone’s all healed up?”

_”Yeah…”_ No, her voice was wrong again. There was hesitation and Lindsay just _knew_ something happened.

Suddenly, the scenario the five of them feared since Matt first opened up to them gained her attention. “She was there, wasn't she?” Lindsay asked breathlessly and Kdin didn't answer. “ _She_ was there, _wasn't_ she?” Lindsay asked more firmly and she could hear the sigh filter through the speaker of the phone. “Where's Matt?”

_”He's fine, Linds.”_

The Chi Manipulator shook her head frantically and could feel tears threatening to fall, “Kdin, where's Matt? If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself and you know I could and I will.”

_”He's… He's gone, Linds. There wasn't… wasn't_ anything _we could do about it. He's trying to protect us and —and you _know _him. You know him better than any of us, he’ll beat them… I know he can.”_

Lindsay shook her head, “No, I'll talk some sense into him.”

_”We don't even know where he is.”_

“Then I'll find him and talk to him. I'm doing this and you’re not stopping me.” Lindsay hung up and growled in frustration as Jack switched off her earpiece and glanced at her once more before speaking up.

“I'm going to assume that Matt’s gone and you want to find him.” Lindsay stayed silent. Jack sighed, “How long will you be gone?”

Eyes widening, Lindsay swiftly turned to Jack in surprise, “You mean, you'll let me go?”

“Geoffrey won't agree and he may be the leader of this Crew, but right now he's frustrated and pissed off with not only Michael but you too. Quite frankly, there were so many instances where Trevor could've killed us, but he hasn't and probably won't. You need to learn to be a team player before you come back. We’re _all_ killers, Lindsay, but we’re also a family. We protect each other.”

Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, “I'm not protecting his ass! He can go die in a hole for all I care.” She grumbled. “He's a monster, a murderer, a backstabber, a _liar_. One day he's going to betray us.”

Jack sighed and leaned back into her seat, keeping her glare focused on the road. “Whatever you say, but I'm not going to talk some sense into you any longer. It's clear that you won't listen anyway. Just remember that he's _human_.”

“Whatever…” Lindsay muttered under her breath as they drove the rest of the way to the beach in silence.

Frowning, Trevor sighed and closed his eyes, readjusting his head on the headrest and forcefully shut down his ability which usually took a lot out of him. It felt refreshing to not have others’ thoughts bombarding his mind with information once in awhile, but he knew that his ability worked like a dam constantly getting water then overflowing soon after. He couldn't stop using his ability for more than an hour or else he’ll get the worst headache. It always made him feel weak when he wasn't reading others’ thoughts and sifting through their memories. Okay, maybe he—purposefully—forgot to tell Geoff that he could see others’ pasts and really only used that part of his ability when necessary, especially when Jeremy had his ‘episodes’.

Speaking of Jeremy, he never shuts down his ability when he's around the other because he shields himself from Jeremy’s ability. It's helpful for the both of them when Trevor was the only one allowed to touch Jeremy. Sometimes Jeremy can't take care of himself and Trevor has to watch over him. Actually, that's all Trevor has done for the past seventeen years. It became more of a necessity than anything else. Occasionally, Jeremy would offer to take care of him, but he always declined. He could take care of himself, he's done it so far. Hell, Jeremy even went out of his way _more than once_ to try and save Trevor’s ass. Unfortunately for Trevor, Jeremy does save his ass, but of course Trevor would never admit that. Trevor smiled lightly. He was lucky to have someone like Jeremy by his side.

He was someone who never judged.

Never over thought.

Never thought too little.

Never was aggressive.

He always talked things through.

Never called him or even considered him a monster.

Trevor supposed, he should be thankful for that last one. He just wished he knew why Lindsay and Michael were both so angry at him. Why did they want him dead? He couldn't find the answer when he took a small peek into their minds, but then again he didn't want to invade on personal property. He never used his ability fully on someone other than Jeremy. He never liked digging into people’s minds anyway. If the Fakes didn't want information leaked, then so be it. Trevor doesn't even know much about the Crew other than everyone’s abilities and motivations. He needed to know to keep Jeremy safe. He couldn't imagine his best friend dying.

Although, his job always meant constant information, so when he was working he'd use his ability to his full potential, especially since Jeremy was always at his side. He needed to keep the other safe, so he had to be at least ten steps ahead of their opponents. His mind worked like a race car that had constant fuel and was racing down a straight road that never stopped.

He opened his eyes when he realized that Geoff was calling him and Andy was poking him. His mind wandered a lot when it wasn't constantly processing people's information. “Hmm?” He inquired quietly and slowly eased his ability back into place.

“The other car, what'd you hear?” Geoff asked for seemingly the fiftieth time if the hint of annoyance in his voice said anything.

He closed his eyes again when he realized it wasn't going to be important enough to give his full attention. “The ordinary, Lindsay hates me and wants to kill me. Meanwhile, Jack is trying to reason with her and of course, it isn't working. What else is new?” He asked dully as a quiet whine was heard from the Special next to him. He reached out a hand and gently patted Andy’s shoulder, “I'll be okay, bud. She won't succeed in doing it.” Andy whined again, he didn't sound convinced. Sighing and retracting his hand, Trevor rubbed the bridge of his nose and kept his eyes closed, “I understand you're worried, but I can take care of myself.” Trevor frowned, “What do you mean, you're tired?” He opened his eyes and turned to Andy, “Tired of _my_ shit? Boy, do you have that _so_ wrong!” Trevor blinked at him in surprise, “You're still worked up about that? Hey, just be glad we actually showed up.”

“Kids…” Geoff mumbled and rolled his eyes. Geoff glanced at them and sighed as Trevor bickered with the mute Andy. It didn't look like the kid was deaf, so Geoff assumed he probably chose not to speak. Although, there were other possibilities to Andy being mute. For example, someone could've ruined his vocal cords. If that happened, luckily he's not dead. Whoever it was could've easily made him silent forever. Geoff opened his mouth to speak, but Trevor turned to him and spoke softly.

“Hey old man, I suggest you _don't_ talk about that. It's a touchy subject.” Trevor informed as Geoff sighed and nodded.

“Wasn't planning on it.”

Trevor tapped his head, “I know your thoughts, you were gonna ask eventually.”

“Yes, but now I know not to pry,” Geoff replied easily and sat back as the beach entered their view behind the hills. “Are you okay with being overwatch all night?” Geoff asked as Trevor nodded.

“I always am,” Trevor said with a smile. “What of the others?”

Geoff turned the wheel and they approached his safe house on the beach on the north side of the island. “They’re to stay in the safe house until further notice. We’ll meet them there in the afternoon tomorrow and we’ll discuss the plan then. Right now, I just want everyone to rest and calm themselves. I especially want you and Lindsay to resolve your issue before the heist in any way. Whatever solution you can think of, do it. Your fight is getting out of hand.”

“It's not my fault that she's being a bitch to me,” Trevor mumbled.

_”I heard that,”_ Lindsay replied sourly.

Trevor smirked, “That's because I transmitted it.”

“Trevor,” Geoff warned as Trevor sighed and leaned back in his seat, switching off his mic.

“Fine,” Trevor said. “I'll handle it, don't worry.”

“Good.”

«~•~»

Waking up in a cold sweat and immediately forgetting what he was dreaming about, Jeremy frantically looked around his dark room for any signs of a threat then turned to the door when someone knocked. He wiped at his eyes and straightened out his clothing, apparently, he had fallen asleep while researching on his and Trevor’s next victim. He felt his neck ache, but ignored it as best he could and stood up to answer the door. “Yes?” He asked while swinging the door open.

“Geoff told you everything?” Ray asked. Wow, he was very straightforward. “You said Megacraft before.”

Jeremy frowned and nodded slowly, “Yeah, um, it was also an excuse to get you off of Trevor.”

Ray glanced at his surroundings and pushed Jeremy inside and onto his bed as Ray closed the door behind him. “This is staying between us. Got it?”

Jeremy looked up at Ray and knitted his eyebrows together, “Uh yeah… sure.” He shut his mouth in thought then said, “Depends on what it is.”

Ray placed his hands on his hips, “What do you think about this war? Is it worth it to be on Geoff’s side for it?”

Jeremy’s mouth fell open and he sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing. He thought it was something much worse. He stood and went to his desk, gathering the discarded papers and closing his laptop. He shook his head, “Only knowing Geoff’s side of the story is not enough for me, but that's because I hunt for information. I've learned almost my whole life that information is what'll help us succeed. I mean, Trevor and I've survived this long. What's different?”

“Do you think we’re on the right side?” Ray asked warily as Jeremy sighed again.

He nodded, “Until I learn about this other side, I'm sticking with Geoff. You don't have to though. I'm just trying to keep Trevor safe.”

Ray scoffed, “You've got it backward there, he's saved you more.”

“That's because he feels indebted to me. I'm doing it because he's my friend.” Jeremy said and frowned when the memory of the burning building and the bloody young Trevor filled his mind. His hand shot up to his head as a headache started to form. Luckily, his back was facing Ray. He swallowed the pain and memory before speaking, “Though now, I feel like it's his hobby to protect me.” Jeremy shrugged, “As long as I keep him under control, then we’re staying.” He took a deep breath when the headache strengthened.

Ray smirked and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder as Jeremy refrained from flinching away. Although, he did tense and he cursed when Ray quickly pulled away. The Fire Manipulator frowned, “Sorry, I forgot that you can't be touched.” Jeremy internally sighed, relieved that that was what Ray concluded to. “Just remember that what we’re doing is for the safety of everyone here.”

“Of course, how could I forget?” Jeremy replied, slightly offended that Ray would consider such a thing.

“Which means no playing favorites.” Ray reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah, I got it,” Jeremy said and ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, but uh when Trevor and someone else is in trouble, I'm saving Trevor. It's a promise we made to each other. We may trust you guys, but we trust each other more. What we’re doing for Geoff is to save everyone. I can't promise that Trevor will do the same.”

“He's erratic,” Ray said.

Jeremy nodded, “I did say he feels indebted to me. But I have a feeling you'll do the same thing with Michael.”

Ray sighed, “I'm not necessarily going to deny or confirm that. What's Geoff making you do?”

“Keep Trevor sane and not have him kill the others,” Jeremy answered. “You?”

“Taurus still doesn't know whose side I'm on, so currently I'm making sure the White Fang doesn't do anything too drastic against us. He is getting suspicious, though.”

“Of course he is. I'm just surprised that he's only getting suspicious now.”

Ray smiled smugly, “I'm just that good.”

Jeremy shoved him playfully and laughed, “Whatever you say.” After their laughter died down, Jeremy examined the other, “So… why aren't you with Taurus? Isn't being here compromising your position?”

Ray frowned as his eyebrows knitted together, “What are you talking about? Geoff told me to come here to watch everyone. He said that he would tell you guys.”

Jeremy shook his head, “He said you were going to be with Taurus. Maybe he said the wrong thing on accident?”

Ray shook his head, “No, I've known Geoff for almost two years, he has never made a mistake this major.”

“How is this major?” Jeremy asked curiously.

Ray’s eyes widened, “It means he knows something about Taurus’s plan and Taurus doesn't know that Geoff knows.” Ray gripped the other’s shoulders and slightly shook him, “We have to trust Geoff on this.”

“Okay…” Jeremy said awkwardly and gently pushed Ray away from him. “I trust him.”

Ray walked over to the door, “I'll let you get back to work. I need to start getting ready.” Jeremy nodded as Ray left.

Sighing, Jeremy leaned over a chair and tightly gripped it, frowning and staring at the wall for what felt like an eternity. Another flash of Trevor smiling wickedly at him made him wince and he decided to go to the bathroom to wash his face. Refresh himself. He walked over and turned on the light, switching the faucet to cold and washing his face. Jeremy looked up at the mirror and his eyes widened when he saw his eyes were a golden yellow, but in the blink of an eye, his eyes were rich chocolate brown once again.

Was he just imagining things?

«~•~»

Slowing the car to a stop, Geoff switched off the car and stepped out of the car, looking up at the first safe house he lived in when he moved to Los Santos. He always visited this safe house when he needed time to think and unwind from all the tension and risks of being a criminal. He never showed anyone else this place except for Jack who he believed to be someone he's met before. He had things to settle and think about, it was the perfect time to do it.

_Why show this to us if it's that important to you?_ Trevor asked as Geoff sighed and turned to him with a frown.

_What did I tell you about doing that? My thoughts are my thoughts._ Geoff reminded him as Trevor rolled his eyes and jokingly bowed at him.

“My apologies, Kingpin,” Trevor said with a smirk as Geoff sighed and closed the car door. He locked it when everyone else got out as Jack walked over to Geoff.

Geoff gestured at the building, “Trevor, take Mica and Andy with you and go and pick your rooms or some shit.” Trevor nodded and motioned for the other two to follow as the two went excitedly and Trevor led them inside.

“Do you want me distracting them?” Jack asked as Geoff shook his head.

“I trust them, Jack. I'm not trying to be a tyrant with this Crew. I want the best results and we're working our way towards that. I just can't keep working with people who constantly bitch about things. This'll hopefully open up her eyes too.” Geoff cocked his head in Lindsay’s direction as the redhead leaned on the car with her hands shoved into her pockets, scowling at the floor and quietly talking to herself. “I also don't want this feud to divide us. If they keep this going, then we're screwed.”

“We’ll be fine, Geoffrey,” Jack said quietly and placed a hand on her hip.

“We're a family, aren't we?” Geoff asked, finally looking at her. “Aren’t families supposed to stick together? Y’know, they can fight, but not to the point where they kill each other. We're real close to that.”

Jack sighed and placed her other hand on Geoff’s shoulder, “We’ll be fine, Geoffrey.” She reassured, “They'll settle this feud and it'll go the way it's supposed to. You running the city. You _owning_ this city. We're here to get you to that point because we believed it was possible.” Jack nudged him with her elbow and smiled, “Plus, you're the only one who _should_ be running Los Santos. Not the Corpirate. Not Taurus. Not any other gang in this city. Just _you_.” She pointed at him for emphasis.

Geoff gave her half a smile, but it disappeared a couple of seconds later and he looked away, watching the sun finally and fully disappear under the horizon. “As much as I like the sound of that, I'm not taking all the credit.”

“Geoffrey, you have to. You have to be the star of the show. You're the face of the Fake AH Crew. If everyone outside of the Crew realizes that there's more than one mind behind all the crazy heists that we'll do, then they'll have more of a chance to take us down. They'll know that they can stop us by taking us out one by one. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true and I know you know it.”

Geoff frowned. The only time he's ever heard that was a long time ago from his best friend when he was with a previous gang in Austin. Geoff made a promise to him that he'd take him with him to Los Santos. Unfortunately, he died along with his girlfriend before they could leave and Geoff left the city immediately. He couldn't remain in Austin after that and he didn't want to be haunted every day of his entire life. Ever since he fled, he had constant nightmares.

He had his best friend’s blood on his hands.

And it was his own fault.

“I need to check something,” Geoff said suddenly and walked away before Jack could say anything else as she watched him leave and pursed her lips.

She turned to Lindsay who was watching them with knitted eyebrows. “What happened?” Lindsay asked.

Jack sighed and shrugged, “I must've said something.”

Lindsay rubbed the back of her neck, “This might be bad.”

“You don't get to say anything until you and Trevor make up.” Jack scolded as Lindsay groaned in annoyance.

She outstretched her arms in exclamation, “Why in the world are the two of you breathing down my neck about this shit? And you said you'd stop.”

“I've stopped, I'm just informing you that you're stepping out of line with your damsel-in-distress crap.”

“I'm not—”

Jack pointed at her accusingly, “What you're doing is making things worse for everyone. Geoff already has enough shit on his hands, don't add more or I swear you'll regret it.” With that, Jack stalked off in search of their leader as Lindsay scowled and kicked at a rock.

Biting her bottom lip, Lindsay took a couple of deep breaths and peered at the safe house angrily. Through the window, Trevor walked by and seemed to be talking as Andy stopped in front of the window and signed. Was that… sign language? Frowning, Lindsay tried to understand the rapid combination of hand gestures that Andy was displaying, but couldn't read a single word. Although, Lindsay never did learn sign language so that would probably explain why. When did Andy learn sign language? And why was he using that instead of speaking?

Was he deaf? No, Trevor was _speaking_ to him, not signing. Maybe Trevor was just being a dick to him, but then again he was a dick so there's no question about that. Plus, if Andy was deaf, he wouldn't survive long in this business. Damn, Trevor was even disrespectful to his own supposed friends which caused Lindsay to despise him even more. Her hands clenched into fists and glared at the window where Trevor shoved Andy away from the window and glared right back at Lindsay. The torturer gave her the middle finger before closing the curtains as Lindsay frowned. How did he even know she was looking?

“Lindsay!”

The aforementioned looked over at the entrance of the safe house where Mica leaned on the door frame with her arms crossed and studied Lindsay carefully from afar. “What?” She asked in annoyance.

Mica shrugged, “It's getting dark and it's going to rain soon, so I suggest you get inside.” Just as she said that a single drop of water splashed onto Lindsay’s hand as Lindsay turned her head and lifted her hand to watch the speck of water trickle down her hand and fall onto the floor. Lindsay looked up at the sky and felt a couple more drops hit her face as she instinctively closed her eyes at the sudden coldness on her face. Finally, Lindsay looked back at Mica to say something but closed her mouth when she noticed the Speedster had disappeared as the rain started to fall consistently and a tiny bit harder.

Quietly, Lindsay walked over to the safe house and stepped inside, closing the door behind her and examining the place surrounding her. The kitchen and bar were to her right and the living room to her left. There were hallways leading to at least eight bedrooms—four on each side. There were even stairs leading to a second floor.

This safehouse was _big_. Why were the rest of Geoff’s safe houses all half the size or less than this one?

Lindsay walked over to the kitchen. Everything was in order and pristine, organized and shiny. It felt like she was in the middle of a fancy restaurant’s kitchen; just the silverware alone must have cost Geoff about a thousand dollars. She moved to the refrigerator and opened it. It was also well organized and had a variety of different food. There were shelves for vegetarians and vegans and other shelves were for meat lovers and people with specific diets. She closed it and knelt down to open the freezer compartment. Ice cream, meat, frozen vegetables, microwaveable goods, and hot pockets. Wow, this place was packed. Was Geoff getting ready for the apocalypse or something?

Navigating her way through the kitchen and into the living room, Lindsay ran her hand through the smooth surface of the island in the kitchen and turned her attention to the living room. Various forms of gaming consoles lined the shelves and were connected to one of the three televisions, one hanging on one of the three walls. Were those… 4K televisions? Frowning, Lindsay looked at the furniture. It was a standard black leather couch that had seats on both sides, almost like there were two couches back to back. There were also two armchairs, one in one of the two corners of the room. There was also a coffee table right in the middle of the living room with a stack of coasters next to a vase holding a variety of different colored roses. She looked under the coffee table and boxes of various board games were stacked neatly on top of each other. How rich _was_ Geoff?

Finally, she shifted her attention to the bar that seemed to be glowing from every angle she looked at it. All the different kinds of liquor and alcohol lined the four eight foot long shelves. Once again, they were all in order; the vodka was with the vodka, the beer was with the beer, the rum was with the rum, et cetera. There was even a counter with stools right under it. This was beyond crazy. Who else even lived here?

“Hey Tuggey,” someone said as Lindsay turned around to see Trevor leaning on the wall in the same position Mica was in not minutes before. He cocked his head toward the hallway, “Jack told me to show you your room. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either.” Lindsay just watched him. Sighing heavily, Trevor rubbed the back of his neck, “Maybe we could talk about this, too. I don't know.”

“I don't have to talk to you about anything.” Lindsay spat.

Trevor put his hands up, “Alright, fine. Then I'll just show you to your room. C’mon.” He motioned for her to follow and reluctantly she obeyed. He walked down the right hallway and stopped at the first door on their left. He opened it and gestured at the inside, “Here it is. Across from you is Mica and Andy’s room.” He pointed at the door behind her. “I'm diagonal. Jack and Geoff are in the other set of bedrooms on the other side of the building. Bathroom’s on the end of the hall. Mica’s always first and quick with getting ready, I bet you can't imagine why.” Trevor said sarcastically and continued before Lindsay could respond, “Andy likes to take his time when he gets ready because it calms him down a bunch. So I suggest you go after Mica.”

“And you?” She didn't really care about when he went to clean himself, but she asked it before she could stop herself.

Trevor smiled, apparently happy that she had even asked a question. “I'm always last because I never go to sleep, so I wait until everyone’s fully awake and ready. I make sure there's no one who decides to jump us because we’re all vulnerable getting ready. I ensure that we survive the night.”

“Why don't you sleep?” Lindsay asked in confusion. “Isn't that bad for your body or something?”

“Yeah, but it'll be a lot worse if I slept. I have lots of energy, anyway. All I need in the morning is a can of Redbull or a cup of coffee and I'm set for the rest of the day.” Trevor answered and started walking back to his room. “By the way, if you can't sleep, accompany me outside while I'm on overwatch tonight.”

“I'll think about it,” she managed to say, actually considering the offer. Trevor chuckled and Lindsay looked over, “What?”

“That's the longest conversation we had without you yelling at me. You're nice when you're not constantly bitching about something.” Trevor said with a smile.

Lindsay rolled her eyes, “You're pushing it.”

Trevor chuckled and opened his door, “Yeah, yeah, I know. Oh, and Geoff said that upstairs is off limits because it's ‘uninhabitable’. So yeah, I'll see you tonight, maybe.” He said before entering his room and closing the door softly.

“Maybe,” Lindsay echoed and went inside her room, getting ready for bed.

«~•~»

_Opening her eyes, Lindsay was in a pitch black room and she looked around for anything. Anything at all. The only thing she could see clearly was herself and opened and closed her hands, looking down at them curiously. Was she dreaming? Or was this real? Suddenly, someone appeared in front of her and she looked up at them as her eyes widened in shock. “N-Neal?” She stuttered weakly and slowly went to reach out to him, but stopped herself completely and quickly pulled her arm back to cradle it away from ‘Neal’._ He's not real, _Lindsay thought to convince herself, but every single detail about ‘Neal’ was a mirror image to the real Neal._ Not real, _she repeated to herself._

_”Lindsay, it's been a long time.” ‘Neal’ said casually. Oh god, he sounded like Neal too. “How've you been?” He sounded concerned._

_”F-fine…” She found herself saying, but she knew she was lying and she knew that Neal knew. Oh god, this nightmare had to stop before it got worse. “Neal… please tell me… Please tell me that you're not dead. That I'm going to wake up and you'll be there with a plate of pancakes for me because you always loved cooking for us. Tell me that you'll be there when everyone’s about to give up and you force us to focus on why we’re doing something and get us back on track. That you'll be there to shield Gavin when he's trying to do stunts in the air. That you'll learn everything you could from Kdin and be at her level. That you'll be there to help Matt with our cars and show him that life is a lot better than he thought. Please tell me that you're alive.” Her voice cracked at the end and she grimaced. She was not going to cry, no matter what._

_Neal sighed and shook his head, “I'm sorry, Lindsay. I know you hate it when we lie. I can't tell you any of that. I wish I could. I_ really _wish I could, but I can't. I can't lie to you, Lindsay. I just came to tell you something. To_ teach _you something.” Lindsay frowned. That never sounded good out of Neal’s mouth because he was usually right. Sometimes, she was okay with him being right. She had the feeling now was not one of those times. Neal sighed once more and continued, “Promise me you'll do something about it.”_

_Her frown became more apparent. “You haven't told me anything yet.”_

_”Lindsay, please, trust me. Promise me you won't sit on your ass anymore and simmer from afar.” Neal practically pleaded._

_”Neal, I have no idea what you're talking about,” Lindsay said incredulously. “You're not making any sense!”_

_Neal sighed and gave Lindsay a look of pity._ Pity! _How could Neal pity her?! He was dead for crying out loud! Suddenly, Neal’s shirt started to soak with blood over his abdomen and she gasped as the blood slowly spread on his shirt and he continued to look at Lindsay in the eye. “It's not his fault. Everyone was clouded in a darkness that night. Please stop blaming him for my death. It wasn't his fault.”_

_Then, her expression turned angry. “How could you say such a thing? Of course, he's to blame! He_ killed _you! Or are you so fucking stupid that you're blind to the obvious?” Lindsay spun around and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't want to look at him, especially as the blood stain grew and he became paler and paler. She immediately regretted what she said when it came out of her mouth, but she had said it so she'll stick with it._

_”I deserve that after all the trauma you've endured.” Neal accepted and started breathing shallow breaths. “Just know this, Lindsay.” He said and paused. “You're not the only one who's lost someone important.” Suddenly, he gasped and keeled forward as he screamed a bloodcurdling scream. Lindsay covered her ears and went to help Neal, but she fell into the abyss of darkness as she reached out for her friend who was long gone._

«~•~»

Jolting awake, Lindsay frantically looked around for something. Anything. However, nothing and no one was there as she tried to slow her breathing and heart rate. Her hand shot up to her head and massaged it, groaning in pain. What had she just dreamed about? And why did she feel like she had been hit by a truck? Whatever happened, she needed some fresh air. She got up and didn't bother to change out of her pajamas before shoving her hands into her pajamas’ pockets and walking out of her room.

It was unusually quiet in the safe house. Gavin’s not laughing, Kdin’s not constantly tapping at her computer’s keyboard, Matt’s not dropping tool boxes and accidentally setting off the car alarm, Neal’s not humming his favorite song as he cooked… Neal… She missed him so much. Oh, how she would do absolutely anything to see him again. Lindsay exited the safe house and softly closed the door behind her, breathing in the fresh air. Thankfully, this far out she couldn't smell any cigarettes and smoke from the city. It was nice to get away from the city once and awhile; Geoff was right. They should all do this every month or so.

_If you'll be my star, I'll be your sky_   
_You can hide underneath me and come out at night_   
_When I turn jet black and you show off your light_   
_I live to let you shine_   
_I live to let you shine_

Lindsay could easily tell it was Trevor who honestly had a really good voice, but Lindsay would never admit that out loud. She decided to keep quiet until he was finished and leaned on the door, watching the waves crash into the shore and listened to the sweet and soft voice.

_But you can skyrocket away from me_   
_And never come back if you find another galaxy_   
_Far from here with more room to fly_   
_Just leave me your stardust to remember you by_   
_Stardust to remember you by_

There was a long pause. So long, in fact, Lindsay thought Trevor had noticed she was there. Then, he spoke quietly, “Sweet dreams, J.” Trevor sang a lullaby to Jeremy so the latter could sleep easier at night, Lindsay concluded. Well… fuck. She's been a douchebag. Pretending she had just walked out of the house, Lindsay walked to the edge of the ledge just before it turned into sand and continued to watch the waves. “Not to ruin your night or anything with my soothing voice, but I believe you'll get your pajamas dirty if you stay out here. Wind’s been picking up lately.” Trevor said with a charming smile as Lindsay turned to face him. He was on the balcony of the second floor and looking down at her through the slits of his hockey mask. Damn, did he know she was listening?

“What happened to ‘upstairs is off limits’?” Lindsay asked and placed a hand on her hip.

He took off his mask and leaned heavily on the railing as it creaked loudly, “I climbed up here, so technically I didn't go upstairs. Plus, he never said the balcony wasn't okay to go to. Anyway, I can see a lot more things when I'm up here. I'm not Gavin; I don't have eagle vision.”

“I get it,” Lindsay said and started to walk back inside, but Trevor’s voice stopped her.

“You know I'm not the bad guy, right?” Trevor asked softly, almost like he was afraid of her answer.

“I'm not talking about this right now,” Lindsay said and took another step toward the door.

“Wait!” Trevor threw his leg over the railing and jumped down, landing and rolling into a crouching position. “I know.” He stood and walked over to her, keeping a safe enough distance away from a possible punch from her, but close enough where he could easily stop her if she were to walk away. “I know it's not the right time to talk about this, but I just _really_ need to know. I know I've done a lot of things and most of my decisions are the worst, but you don't honestly think I'm the worst person alive, do you?” By this time, he was staring at the ground and fidgeted with his hands. A nervous habit, anyone could easily tell.

Why did he sound like a child confessing that he's taken the last cookie?

Why did his actions look like he's a child being blamed for something he didn't do?

Why did he look _so_ innocent for a criminal?

“Trevor,” Lindsay started off and sighed as Trevor dared to look up at her, “I hate your guts and that's not an exaggeration. You did kill someone dear to me and even you must know that that's not forgivable. However,” she paused to sigh again, “you're not the worst person.” She's supposed to hate him, but she couldn't help but feel guilty for yelling at him. “Why are you smiling like that?”

It was an honest smile, one that should never be taken away from anyone. “You called me Trevor and its progress.” He scratched the back of his head, “By the way, I don't have the slightest clue who I killed, but I'm sorry, really. If I could find a way to bring them back as a way to apologize, then I would.”

“Neal… His name was Neal Werle, he could… he could uh generate force fields.” Lindsay said quietly.

Frowning, Trevor scanned Lindsay and shook his head, “I don't kill Specials, Lindsay. I've never in my life killed a Special unless they were dedicated to killing people I care about. Would Neal be that kind of killer?”

Lindsay shook her head, “No, Neal would never try to kill anyone outside of work unless completely necessary.”

“Okay, but if you think I killed him, I'll take your word for it. Good night, Tuggey.” Trevor said and started walking away.

This was not how she expected this situation to go. Trevor seemed like such a different person just now. Was being a bloodthirsty criminal all a persona and underneath he was just a lost child trying to please everyone? Whatever he was, Trevor was not the person Lindsay thought him to be and she realized that now. “Y’know, you have a really nice voice.” She said with a smile. How unfortunate that it took this long to realize that he was not as bad as she characterized him to be.

Trevor turned in mild surprise and smiled, “Thanks.”

“Good night, Trevor.” Saying his name sounded so much better and she felt guilt run through her at what she had done to him. She was going to change it. It was for the better. Lindsay walked back into the house and was able to sleep soundly that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SONG THAT TREVOR SINGS: [Boats and Birds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6o8Sji6E9Q) by Gregory and the Hawk
> 
> Also, I am creating a website for this story that will have ALL of the information you need to be up to date on this story and gives more background and detail on each character. I will still have the Tumblr blog for this story because you can't ask questions on the website, soooooo yeah. Thank you guys for reading this story, it means so much to me that you enjoy this because I'm just some random person on the internet and for some reason, a lot of you enjoy something I've created. Thank you so much for your support!


	20. Knock Knock. Who's There? Pain.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray and Ryan finally have a normal conversation without yelling at each other. Geoff has a dream. Trevor is having a midlife crisis. Jeremy is the midlife crisis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEYOOOOOO IT'S BEEN A YEAR SINCE THIS STORY HAS BEEN POSTED AND I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW BIG IT'S GOTTEN LIKE HOLY FUCK THERE'S SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ENJOY THIS. WHO ARE YOU AND WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME WHY YOU ENJOY THIS STORY SO MUCH TO CONTINUE READING? LEMME BE YOUR FRIENDS, PLEASE?
> 
> ANYWAY, CELEBRATORY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR SPECIALS MY NUMBER ONE FIC ON AO3 HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER.

“What are you trying to accomplish, Ray?” Ryan asked quietly and leaned heavily on the wall with his arms crossed.

Ray sighed and turned to face the other, “Do you have any idea what I'm fighting for, Vagabond?”

Ryan shook his head, “However, I have a guess. It's Michael, isn't it?”

Ray’s jaw clenched and he looked away, walking to the railing of the balcony and gripping it tightly. “He doesn't know what I'm doing for him. He's not aware that I'm trying to save his ass. He just doesn't understand!”

“I bet,” Ryan walked over to Ray and placed a comforting hand on the other’s shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly and smiling at the marksman. “But explaining the situation to him could be worthwhile.”

Shaking his head, Ray sighed, “No, not until we take down the Corpirate, then I'll tell him.” Finally, Ray looked up at Ryan and smiled, leaning back into Ryan’s figure and stealing the other’s warmth as the assassin wrapped his arms around the other and rested his head atop the marksman’s head. Ray clutched gently to Ryan’s arms and spoke quietly, “I’ll always be on Michael’s side, no matter what. If Taurus is hurting him, then I will crush him. If Geoff is hurting him, then I will slaughter him. If I hurt him, then… I will disappear.” Ryan’s arms tightened slightly in response, but after a while, he loosened them and sighed.

“You're extremely loyal to him. Why?”

Ray frowned and looked at the highway just a mile or two away from them. Cars zoomed by and trucks honked their horns as the world continued on with their lives. He felt a twinge of jealousy at the people who lived a carefree life. Why couldn't Michael have a life like that? Why couldn't the world give Michael the life he deserved instead of this curse-filled one? He doesn't deserve it. Ray deserved it. “He's the only family I've got.”

“And that's your only reason?”

“Vagabond—”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it's Ryan?” The assassin asked softly as Ray sighed.

Shaking his head, Ray gently pulled away from the other, despite Ryan wanting to stay in that same position comforting Ray. “I don't know you anymore, Vagabond. We had a thing for a couple of weeks when you started out your career in the East Coast, but anything we had going on dissipated once you left. You're a different person.”

Ryan shrugged, “That's what happens when you grow up, you change. I mean, you've changed too. You're all mean and rude.” Ryan said with a smile as Ray shoved him playfully.

“Yeah, well you're a creepy motherfucker,” Ray replied.

“I think Trevor earns that title more than I do now.”

“Let's not talk about him, he's not right in the head,” Ray said.

“And I'm not?”

“No, you are,” Ray said with a small smile.

“Uh huh, that's not what you said when you were yelling at me before.” Ryan pointed out.

“Like I said, you're a different person.” There was silence for a while.

“When we had that fake argument before we headed to this safe house, you didn't mean any of that, right? You were just playing it up for whoever was watching?” Ryan asked out of nowhere.

Ray frowned, “Geoff told us to throw him off, so we did. I didn't think Jeremy would agree to it. We had to see whose side Trevor was on.”

“That doesn't answer my question…”

Ray sighed, “No, I didn't mean anything I said. When did Geoff tell you, anyway?”

“He didn't, I figured it out. There was a reason Geoff was creating an army with the most skilled people in Los Santos. I confronted him and he knew that I'd eventually figure out what would happen. I work like that.” Ryan said, smiling at the other.

“I'm fully aware.” Ray turned away from him and looked up at the moon that loomed over them eerily. “I forgive you for leaving me, but if you ever decide to betray me like that again, you'll pay.”

Ryan nodded and leaned heavily on the railing, looking at Ray. “Geoff will separate us all if he finds out.”

“Finds out what? That his entire team of murderers is secretly working on a plan to help him succeed against the Corpirate? Or was it the part where the people he's told the truth to don't actually think there's a Specialist War underway?”

“Ray… I know you don't believe that second statement.”

“I didn't say I didn't believe it. I just think that he's overreacting. This group that he's scared of probably isn't as big as the White Fang. The start of a second Specialist War, my ass!”

Ryan frowned, “Geoff’s not scared of anyone.”

Ray scoffed, “He's scared of the Corpirate and Taurus, that's proof enough for me that he's paranoid as fuck.”

“Didn't you start helping him _because_ you thought the Second could happen?”

“Yeah, but that was before he started sending me on these pointless missions. Trust me, I love the guy, but the fact that I spend half my time watching your guys’ backs in case any of you decide to run off on your own is absolutely insulting. I might as well just run into our enemy’s base and hand all of you over.” Ray responded and huffed angrily, “I won't actually do that. It'll endanger Michael.”

Ryan sighed and shook his head, “Sometimes you should think of yourself.”

Ray shook his head, “Pointless. My life’s already found meaning and that's making sure that Michael lives. I'm doing a pretty good job of that.” Ray turned and shoved his hands into his front pockets, slowly walking to the sliding door.

“It'll get you killed one day,” Ryan assured as Ray shrugged and opened the door.

“Then come at me. I won't die until I know Michael’s taken care of.” Ray entered the safe house and closed the door behind him as Ryan sighed and stayed on the balcony for another hour.

Sighing, Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening his eyes and looking up at the starry night sky that shone darkly over him. “You're right, Ray, I have changed.”

«~•~»

Sighing, Geoff smiled and moved the blinds back, turning away from the window and closing his eyes. “Finally… Their friendship has started.” He said, relieved and referring to Lindsay and Trevor.

“Well, it seems like one thing has finally started going well.”

Opening his eyes, Geoff stared in shock at the man before him and opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing he could muster was a weak “Shannon?”

Shannon chuckled and stepped closer, “How've you been, boss?”

Staring in disbelief, Geoff shook his head and took a step toward the other, “You're supposed to be…”

“Dead, I know.” Shannon sighed and closed the distance between them, hugging Geoff tightly. “Alive or dead, you know I have your back, Geoffrey.”

Geoff clutched tightly to Shannon and refused to cry at seeing his best friend, “Why… why are you here?”

Shannon pulled away from the hug and smiled at the other, “I'm watching over you, Geoffrey, even if you think we’ve left you completely alone.”

“But…” Geoff shook his head and took a couple of steps away from Shannon. The bearded man’s smile was honest and loving; those smiles always reassured Geoff that he wasn't alone.

“Look around you,” Shannon said softly, “you've created an unstoppable team of criminals who are focused on one goal and that goal is seeing you succeed in conquering Los Santos. Geoffrey, you're doing what you promised you'd do. You're saving everyone from him.”

“No!” Geoff shouted and clenched his hands into fists.

“No?” Shannon asked, a little taken aback by the sudden outburst.

“You don't get it, Shannon! I've failed.” Geoff said somberly.

“No, you haven't.”

“Yes, I have!” Geoff yelled. “First, Matt left, then Burnie went nuts! Then, I made Gus leave! It was my fault! I couldn't do anything to make him stay! And look at Joel! Look at him! He's not even sure what's right or wrong anymore! And what else happened? You left, Shannon! You left! And Caiti left! So, I failed you. I failed Matt and Gus and Caiti and you and—and… and Griffon… I failed you, I failed all of you! I'm so fucking worthless! I can't do this, Shannon, I can't lead a team on my own. Burnie was right, I can't do it. I'm not ready for this shit.”

Shannon placed a comforting hand on the other’s shoulder and smiled, “You have to be ready, Geoffrey. You know what's going to happen. You know how everything’s supposed to go. If you stay on that path, then he’ll be defeated.”

Geoff frowned, “Yeah, right… Everything’s already gone to shit. Trevor’s supposed to be a nice kid. Honest, gentle, and caring, y’know? Lindsay wasn't supposed to hate him. They're supposed to be friends. Really _good_ friends. Neal _and_ Larry were supposed to join us, but they're dead. Steffie was supposed to be one of the first people I chose, but I had to choose the Vagabond because he was the only other assassin that's just as good as her. Ryan was supposed to join later. I didn't even know that was his name for crying out loud! Michael and Ray are supposed to be against us, but now Ray’s on our side. I don't even know where this Matt guy came from, he's an absolute mystery to me! Caleb isn't the Caleb we know. They had control over it, this Caleb doesn't. We weren't supposed to spend so much time on trying to trust each other… and—and you... You're supposed to be at my side… Although Jack’s really good at her job, she's not like you, Shannon. However… she does remind me of you.” Geoff sighed and his gaze fell to the ground, “None of this is right.”

Sighing, Shannon smiled a sad smile and spoke softly, “One thing _is_ right, though. Which reminds me, Geoffrey, I never told you my full name.”

Geoff slowly looked up at Shannon and blinked in confusion, “What?”

“My middle name’s Shannon.”

«~•~»

Jack shook Geoff gently, “Geoff, wake up.” Blinking his eyes open, Geoff yawned and stretched as Jack took a step back to give him space. “You talk in your sleep.”

Geoff frowned and looked up at Jack from his spot behind his desk. “What was I saying?”

She shrugged, “A bunch of nonsense as far as I can tell.”

“What'd I say exactly?”

“Uh…” Jack started off, “Something about how this isn't how it's supposed to be, whatever that means.”

“Did I give specific events?” Geoff stood and grabbed onto Jack’s shirt, pulling her closer.

As much as she wanted to shove Geoff away, she didn't. “No, you just kept mumbling that nothing’s right.”

“Are you sure I said nothing else?!” He practically yelled.

Irritated, Jack frowned, “No, I didn't hear anything else! Now let go of me!”

Geoff’s eyes widened as his grip on Jack’s shirt loosened and he stepped back, “I'm sorry…” His hand went to his head and he massaged it. “I'm under too much stress.”

“You're also paranoid as fuck,” Jack commented dryly and crossed her arms. “You won't even tell me what Taurus said yesterday.”

“Jack…” Geoff said quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Do you know if anyone's middle name is Shannon?”

Jack frowned, “Why?”

Geoff shrugged, “Something just tells me that an old friend of mine has been with me since I started the Fakes.”

“Well, as far as I know, no. But I can get Kdin on it if you want.” Jack suggested as Geoff nodded. She nodded, “Okay, now get ready while I call Kdin.” Geoff silently obeyed and walked away as Jack watched him leave. She shook her head, “If only you knew, Geoffrey.”

Geoff walked back into the room and walked over to Jack as she panicked, wondering if Geoff had heard her. Geoff passed her and picked up something from his desk, not even sparing a glance at her. “By the way, tell Kdin to only look up the guys.” Jack nodded and sighed in relief as he left.

«~•~»

Trevor’s eyes were widened and he stared in shock at nothing in particular, but he knew now. Because of his ability, Trevor could read minds, communicate with people telepathically, sift through other’s memories, _and_ manipulate people’s dreams. He only manipulated people’s dreams when he knew they needed the sleep but couldn't get it because of constant nightmares. He helped Lindsay and Geoff sleep tonight, but it may have been a mistake because Trevor _knew_. He knew that his whole life was a lie.

_”Trevor’s supposed to be a nice kid. Honest, gentle, and caring, y’know?”_

Geoff had said. He said that. He was completely aware in his dream. He wasn't supposed to be aware in his dreams. Trevor dug too far in. Trevor made a mistake. Now, Trevor knew the truth. Trevor slowly looked down at his shaking hands with wide eyes. Who he was now was not who he was supposed to be.

He was supposed to be nice. A flash of him yelling at Jeremy to stay at the safe house entered his mind. He was supposed to be honest. A flash of him encountering Jeremy for the second time flooded his mind. He was supposed to be gentle. A flash of hundreds of people that he's tortured overwhelmed his mind. He was supposed to be caring.

Screwing his eyes shut, Trevor shook his head frantically and breathed deeply several times to control his already uneven breathing as his hands covered his ears. He couldn't control his breathing, much like how he couldn't control himself when his emotions ran wild or when someone threatened to hurt Jeremy in some way. Why was he supposed to be someone else?

“WHY?!” Trevor yelled loudly and stared up at the sky with wide eyes that burned.

_“Ha ha ha!”_

His mouth fell open in shock. He's heard of that laugh before, but where? Shakily moving his arms to his sides, Trevor looked around for the source of the laugh, but no one else was there. “Wh-who are you?” He stuttered. _Don't show weakness. It'll get Jeremy killed._ He reminded himself and shook off his fear as his expression shifted into anger and he clenched his hands into fists. “Show yourself!”

_”Oh look, the little torturer thinks he's so strong.”_

“Who are you?” Trevor shouted and looked around frantically. No one was there. Was it just all in his head?

_”An old friend.”_

“Oh sure, because that cleared things up,” Trevor said sarcastically.

_”I think you need to leave.”_

Frowning, Trevor’s eyebrows knitted together, “Leave?” He asked in confusion.

_”Mhmm… This band of nobodies is a waste of your time and talent.”_

Trevor growled, “You don't know me and I'm not leaving!”

_”Oh, but I know you well enough to know that you're haunted by your friends from the asylum.”_

His eyes widened and he froze as flashes and images of his past flooded his mind. The memories were overwhelming him quickly. “No…” Trevor closed his eyes and saw an explosion as he opened his eyes in fear and started breathing heavily. “No… they've come back to take me… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…” There were tears in his eyes.

_”Oh, it's so sad, I think I'm going to cry.”_

“I—I didn't want to…”

_”You don't want to make the same mistake twice, right?”_

Trevor felt himself slowly shaking his head, but he wasn't thinking straight anymore. Too many memories were coming to light.

_”Good, then leave them.”_

“Leave… them…?” Trevor echoed. He didn't want them to die. He didn't want the Fakes to die because of him. No, he will not be responsible for more blood to be spilled by his own hands. It's better to leave them; they'll be safer. They'll be able to go on with their lives like he was never there. They'll be able to get on with their mission, especially because he kept putting them back. They'll be better off without him.

But…

Trevor shook his head furiously. No, he was not going to make the same mistake twice. He _won't_ leave Jeremy again. He'll keep him safe and control his emotions; bottle it up inside so he wouldn't show any weakness. If he showed weakness, then Jeremy wouldn't be safe anymore and he could die. No, it won't happen, he won't let it. He'll keep him safe and the others too. Whatever force was trying to get him to betray the Fakes would have to try harder because he was _not_ going to leave them to fend for themselves.

Too bad that force decided to take the challenge and won.

«~•~»

The board was littered with soldiers from different ranks in different positions and their fallen comrades were off to the side. The green side was missing a couple of their frontline and seemed to be winning with a strategy that they've created themselves as the brown side was missing less than half of their team and struggled to find a way to outsmart the other side. Lavishing a sword, a brown knight moved forward and attacked a green bishop as a green queen quickly counteracted the attack, taking out the brown knight. The brown leader panicked for a moment before getting an idea and smirking. He commanded his rook to slide to the left and protect the brown king. However, the rook also was in clear sight of the green king. Smiling, the green leader slid their pawn into place and annihilated the brown rook as the pawn upgraded.

With a look of absolute success, Gavin cheered and threw his hands into the air as his wings spread out in celebration. “Checkmate!”

With a look of absolute defeat, Michael dropped his head and groaned, “I thought I had you there.”

“Better luck next time, Michael!” Gavin said with a smile.

Michael nodded and gathered up the chess board and pieces, cleaning them up and putting it aside. “You're really good.” Michael praised casually and leaned back in his chair as Gavin beamed at him. Michael swore he would make the Brit continue to smile like that for the rest of his life.

“Thanks, Michael! I learned from the best! Kdin’s lessons are finally paying off.”

“You think you could teach me a thing or two?” Michael asked as Gavin nodded in excitement.

Before Gavin could respond, however, the door opened and Ryan stepped in as the two looked over in curiosity. He sighed, “Sorry to interrupt, but Michael, I need your help with something.”

Frowning, Michael asked, “What is it?”

Kdin stepped into view next to Ryan with a solemn face, “I need to talk to Gavin. Alone preferably.” Kdin said before Ryan could say anything.

Michael turned to Gavin who nodded and watched Michael sigh and follow Ryan out of the room as Kdin stepped further in, closing the door behind her. She walked over and sat in the chair the wild card was sitting in as Gavin examined her quickly to see if she was injured. She wasn't. Thankfully. “What's wrong, Kdin?”

Kdin looked down at her lap and fiddled with her hands, shaking her head. “Why am I always the bringer of bad news, Gav? Why can't I ever just be… normal.” She said quietly and sighed. She shook her head, “I'm so sorry.”

Wincing, Gavin sat up and moved closer to her, “I'm not normal either, Kdin. Look at me,” he waited for her to look up at him, “I'm anything but normal. I have bloody wings protruding out of my back. It's mental!” He said, reassuring her. “But having a photographic memory is beyond abnormal, people remember lots of stuff!”

“Yeah but, Gavin, I'm a Special. Specials are abnormal.” Kdin reasoned.

“Like I said, I'm abnormal too. So is Lindsay or even Matt. Hell, Matt is the most abnormal out of all of us, but we shouldn't let that stop us from being human. You're not alone in this, Kdin. We’re right beside you.” Gavin said encouragingly.

“You're wrong…” Kdin said quietly and looked away. Frowning, Gavin studied her closely. She had something to say, but she wouldn't say it. The hacker stood and moved to the window, slowly pressing her palm onto the cold glass and looking out the window in sadness. Her other hand clenched into a tight fist and Gavin knew that something was wrong. Really wrong. She removed her hand from the window and said in a strained voice, “She's gone.”

“Who?” Gavin found himself saying.

“Lindsay… She went after Matt.” She turned to face Gavin and her expression was angry. “Don't tell me that you'll be there for me because where are they?! Huh? Where in the fuck are they? We’re never seeing them again, Gav! They'll die! And then what'll happen when you leave? What then?! I'll be all alone! You would all be gone and I would be here _alone_ without any of you! I might as well just--”

Gavin slapped Kdin.

He hit her so hard that she fell to the floor. He didn't mean to hit her so hard, but the way she was speaking was not acceptable. He had to get through to her before they lost her too.

“Do you have _any_ idea how hard we’ve tried to stay together _despite_ Neal leaving us?” Gavin asked, looking down at her with anger in his eyes. His wings were hiked up in the air with his feathers spread out. Kdin could tell what he was feeling because she had to. She had to study birds and their reactions to things because it helped her understand Gavin more. She remembered every single position of birds’ wings and what they meant. She remembered this one in particular.

Hostility.

“Do you have any idea _why_ Lindsay’s going after Matt?” Gavin asked as his wings continued to spread in anger. Kdin couldn't find her voice to answer and Gavin must've sensed this because he continued. “It's because she's trying to get him _back_. She doesn't want us to divide because she knows that it'll just _destroy_ the rest of us. Matt may be experienced to handle his situation, but she knows that he can't do it alone. No matter how strong he thinks he is, he can't handle all of them without resting. She's taking care of him. Much like how we take care of her.”

“But what if they—”

Gavin sighed and ran a hand through his hair as his wings lowered and calmed down. “Stop thinking about the hypotheticals, Kdin. It'll just make you think and ponder more. We don't want anything to happen to them and it won't. They can take care of themselves.” Gavin lowered to a crouch and offered a hand to her.

Staring at his hand for a while, Kdin looked away and preferred to stay on the floor. “Matt maybe, but Lindsay’s on her last leg.”

“Don't say that,” Gavin said quietly. “She'll make it because we’ll help her.”

“Every ability has a limit and consequences. She's going to leave us soon.”

Gavin sighed, “Then we’ll make sure we check off her entire bucket list before she does. Agreed?” He offered his hand again.

Kdin looked up at him and saw the pure hope and reassurance in his green eyes. She knew that she was in good hands with this Crew. “Yeah,” she said softly and took his hand as he lifted her up and smiled.

“Don't worry, Kdin. Please don't worry.”

Kdin nodded slowly, “Yeah… okay. But uh—there's a uh…” Kdin sighed, “There's something else I need to tell you.”

“Yeah?” Gavin asked and sat on the bed, massaging his shoulder and curling his wings closer to him. His wings ached.

“Jack called me and told me to look up all of the males’ files in the Fakes to see if anyone had a middle name of Shannon and well… Geoff called me too, but he—he told me to look up _everyone’s_ middle names. Obviously, I can't look up Trevor, Ryan, and Andy’s middle names because I don't know their last names. I can't look up Matt’s either because he changes like every time I see him. Anyway, I looked up all of the guys first and found nothing.” She paused and pursed her lips as Gavin looked at her worriedly.

“There's a ‘but’ to this story, isn't there?” He asked.

She sighed, “However, I looked up Jack’s profile and… There's only one Jack Shannon Pattillo who's in the criminal business and has a stunning record of ten successful heists in less than a week. I don't know why I didn't notice before…”

“Notice what?” Gavin asked softly.

She met Gavin’s green eyes, “That Jack who was a criminal was a man and… and he died. He died several years ago along with his girlfriend, Caiti Ward. There's no record of a female Jack Shannon Pattillo.”

Gavin’s eyes widened and he asked cautiously, “What are you saying, Kdin? Is our Jack an imposter?”

She shook her head, “The male Jack Shannon Pattillo was a Special.”

“What was his ability?”

“Shapeshifting.”

«~•~»

They were on their way back to the FAHC hideout and everyone was unusually quiet as tension lingered around them. Jack and Geoff were still the ones driving, but this time Trevor rode with Jack and Andy preferred to follow Trevor because Andy didn't trust Geoff just yet, especially since the torturer decided to ride with Jack for no reason. Mica was still running beside them and watched them worriedly. Despite wanting to lighten the mood, Mica knew when to keep quiet. Unfortunately, Lindsay had left in the middle of the night and didn't even leave a note. Additionally, Geoff yelled at Trevor for not keeping an eye out and Trevor didn't bother defending himself, but he did feel like shit for not watching her. They were on their way to becoming friends, but she left. Why does everyone leave him?

No one even dared to say a word until they got to the hideout.

Arriving at the safe house, Geoff switched off the car and stepped out as Michael and Ray were the ones to greet them. “How was it?” Ray asked and watched as Geoff just brushed past him silently. Frowning, Ray looked at the others and he could already tell that something was wrong. “What happened?” He asked worriedly as everyone else got out of the car.

Michael huffed and crossed his arms, “I'll tell you what happened. I bet Little Mr. Torturer over there opened his big fucking mouth.” A car door was slammed loudly and everyone looked over at Trevor who glared daggers at the wild card. “I dare you to lie to me and tell me that's not true.”

Jack opened her mouth to answer, but Trevor cut her off, “If you haven't noticed yet, we don't want to talk about it.”

“Oh boo hoo, cry me a river. It's your fucking fault that everyone’s like this!” Michael accused.

Before he knew it, he was down on his back on the ground and Mica was standing over him with a furious expression. “Shut the fuck up.” She said slowly for him to get it through his thick skull. “You have no _fucking_ right to speak to him like that.” A fireball was thrown in her direction and she missed it easily. “What? You want some too?!”

“Next time, I won't miss,” Ray promised with a stern look.

“Mica, stop,” Trevor ordered as she practically growled at Michael and stepped back. Michael stood and glared at Trevor as the torturer gestured toward himself, “Go ahead, then. Yell at me. Tell me how terrible of a person I am. Do it!” He yelled as Michael was a bit taken aback by the sudden outburst.

Then, Michael noticed something. “Where's Lindsay?”

Trevor sighed.

“I-is she dead?” Michael asked almost fearfully.

“Michael—” Jack began.

“I want to hear it from him!” Michael shouted. “Tell me where she is.”

“Gone,” Trevor answered simply.

“Gone where?”

“I don't know.”

Michael scoffed, “You know! I know you know. Where is she?”

“You let Matt go, where else do you think she is?!” Trevor shouted, irritated at how difficult Michael was being.

Ray frowned and furrowed his eyebrows, “How do you know that?”

“No!” Trevor exclaimed.

Everyone seemed to look at each other as Mica and Andy shared a knowing look. Andy disappeared as Mica got ready to sprint if she needed to. “No?” Ray asked in confusion.

“You're supposed to be yelling at me! Tell me how I've failed! Beat me until I listen!” Trevor screwed his eyes shut and clenched his hands into fists.

“Trevor…” Mica whispered sadly as his eyes opened and widened.

Then, his expression turned angry and he ran forward toward Michael who couldn't react fast enough. A shimmer of light came from Trevor’s hand and Mica’s eyes widened. “NO STOP!” That was not Mica’s voice.

Trevor frowned and looked at Michael with an indifferent expression. He had stopped just mere centimeters away from Michael’s face as the wild card stared down the barrel of the gun in the other’s hand. Trevor lowered the gun and turned to see Jeremy standing there breathing heavily from his sudden yell. “You stopped me,” Trevor stated blatantly.

“You were going to kill him!” Jeremy reasoned.

Trevor burst into laughter and held his stomach, “Hahaha! Oh man, Jeremy, you know me better than that. I wasn't going to kill him.” He was still laughing, but he was the only one who found their current situation amusing. Soon enough, his laughter died down and he wiped away invisible tears. He took a deep breath and smiled, walking over to Jeremy. However, Jeremy did something he hadn't done in years.

He flinched away from Trevor.

Frowning, Trevor stepped away and furrowed his brows. “That look… You haven't given me that look since… since I found you again.” Trevor took more steps away from Jeremy who was watching the other with a look of pure fear. “No… You're not supposed to be scared of me. No… no no no!” He turned to Ray and Michael, “Did you tell him something? How—how did you convince him? HOW?!” He asked angrily and even pointed the gun at them. “Answer me!”

Ray stepped in front of Michael and held his hand up, wishing he had telekinesis instead of his stupid out-of-control pyrokinesis so he could force the gun down. “Trevor, we didn't tell him anything. Put the gun down.” He said calmly.

“Bullshit! Look at him!” Trevor shouted. When no one obeyed, he shouted again, “LOOK AT HIM!” They reluctantly looked over. Jeremy was taking several steps back toward the safe house and wanted to do anything to just leave. “He's—he's scared of me. It's your fault. Your fault!” He said and shook the gun in their direction.

He was going to kill someone if they didn't get him under control.

“Trevor put the gun down. Everyone here is scared, but that's because you're holding us at gunpoint. So if you could just—” Ray tried to reason with him.

“Stop talking!” Trevor demanded. “Jeremy,” his voice was much softer and calmer, “I know you tell me not to, but I'm going to find out why you're acting like this. I'm going to fix you. I'm going to help you. Okay?”

“You promised you would never read my mind unless I had an episode.”

“I know, I know, but you're hurting. I need to find out why.” Trevor replied.

“Trevor wait.” But it was too late, Trevor saw the memories that Jeremy saw. The horrors of himself killing his own friends at the asylum and taking pleasure in it. No, how did he even have these memories? Was Jeremy there? With wide eyes, Trevor slowly lowered the gun and seemed to stare at nothing for a while before turning to Jeremy. Jeremy gasped. Trevor was crying.

“You think I'm a monster now too…” It was more of a statement than a question.

“No Trevor, I—” The fear of Trevor in Jeremy immediately dissipated and he felt guilty. He hadn't meant for his nightmares to affect him this bad. It was just nightmares; it wasn't real.

“Save your breath,” Trevor said firmly. “I promise you'll never see a monster like me again.” He reached under the collar of his shirt and pulled out a necklace. A key and pendant of a starry night sky—which was missing the center star—was attached to it. He pulled it off his neck and looked at it solemnly before throwing it to the ground. “Goodbye, J.”

“Trevor, wait!” Jeremy went to grab the other, but the torturer was already running away and someone grabbed him, stopping him from following Trevor. Turning, Jeremy saw Geoff holding onto his arm and frowned at the older. Geoff shook his head, but Jeremy tugged his arm free. He walked over to where Trevor once stood and crouched down to retrieve the dropped necklace. He clutched tightly to his own necklace. The cross and key seemed to lightly burn him and he detached the star in the middle of the key, slotting the star into the starry night pendant. It fit perfectly. “I'm sorry.”

In the distance, a shot rang out and echoed loudly throughout the empty silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, seriously though, I want to get to know you guys! I want to know why you continue to read this ridiculously long fic that's honestly not even a quarter of a way there. You can comment on here or say hi to me on [Tumblr](https://xcaboosertrvb.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> **KNOWN POWERS**  
>  Gavin Free: Bird Hybrid, Heightened Senses  
> Ray Narvaez Jr.: Fire Manipulation  
> Lindsay Tuggey: Chi Manipulation  
> Trevor Collins: Telepathy  
> Unknown Character: Appendage Generation  
> Adam Taurus: Bull Hybrid, Heightened Senses  
> Max Conaway: Tactical Analysis  
> Jeremy Dooley: Psychometry  
> Mica Burton: Enhanced Speed  
> Andy Blanchard: Invisibility  
> Larry Matovina: Dimensional Manipulation  
> Neal Werle: Shield Construction  
> Kdin Jenzen: Enhanced Memory  
> Jack Pattillo: Shapeshifting  
> Caleb Denecour: Precognition  
> Supposed Telepathic: Telepathy  
> Unknown Female: Telekinesis, Heat Manipulation, Ritual Magic, Supernatural Tracking
> 
> ALSO CONGRATS TO [THE_ROGUE_SYLPH](http://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Rogue_Sylph/pseuds/The_Rogue_Sylph) WHO GOT JACK'S POWERS COMPLETELY CORRECT.
> 
> IF YOU'VE GOT ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING THE STORY/ANYTHING RELATING TO THE STORY, HERE'S THE [TUMBLR](https://specialsofficial.tumblr.com/) OR COMMENT.


	21. Just Stop... Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Trevor's departure stirred up something else no one wanted to witness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pssssssst, it's [MerryLittleKitty's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/MerryLittleKittyFairy) birthday in like a couple minutes, say happy birthday to her!
> 
> Yes, I am aware Geoff doesn't drink anymore, I wrote this before his abstinence, but him choosing not to drink anymore will be something hopefully embedded into this story soon enough.

Passing Ray, Geoff stepped into their hideout and immediately went to the refrigerator, grabbing himself a cold beer bottle. He started chugging the beer down as the liquid failed to satisfy his need to drink himself into a stupor. He finished the bottle and slammed it onto the kitchen counter, breathing heavily as his shoulders shook. Again and again, he failed. He failed to save his friends when he was still a Rooster. He failed to stop his best friend’s untimely demise. He failed to keep an eye on the kids who were growing up to become apart of his Crew. They had all slipped away from him. He failed to keep everyone out of this damn war. His so-called friend was going to win. He was going to start the Second Specialist War if he couldn't keep his own damn gang in control. The Second would destroy the world, everyone who wasn't deemed worthy enough to live would be sentenced to execution.

And they were going to start by tearing apart Geoff’s Crew from the inside out.

“NO STOP!”

Outside, Geoff could hear screaming and he quickly ran out the building, stopping at the doorframe to overlook the situation. Trevor was pointing a gun at Michael, Ray and Mica were refusing to attack each other in fear of their friends getting hurt if they weren't watching them carefully, Andy was nowhere to be found, Jack was watching the entire exchange with wide eyes, and Jeremy was breathing heavily. He was probably the one that screamed earlier.

“You stopped me,” Trevor stated blatantly, lowering his gun.

“You were going to kill him!” Jeremy reasoned.

Trevor burst into obnoxious laughter, “Oh man, Jeremy, you know me better than that. I wasn't going to kill him.” After a while, he stopped laughing and wiped away imaginary tears. Trevor walked over to Jeremy, but the younger moved away from him.

That was odd. Usually, Jeremy always took comfort from Trevor.

What happened next, Geoff could only watch in shock as his Crew continued to tear themselves apart. Even as Trevor threatened Michael and Ray with a gun, Geoff could only watch helplessly as his enemy got what they wanted.

The demise of the Fakes.

“You think I'm a monster now, too…” Trevor said quietly as Geoff snapped back to reality.

_No, stop…_ He couldn't put a voice to those words.

“Trevor, I—” Jeremy started.

_Please, don't do this._ He begged whatever force there was out there to grant his wish, even though he knew it'd fall on deaf ears.

“Save your breath,” Trevor said firmly. Geoff wondered if Trevor was talking to him or Jeremy. Maybe both of them. “I promise you'll never see a monster like me again.” The torturer seemed to fiddle with something around his neck and pulled it off, giving it a solemn look before throwing it to the ground. “Goodbye, J.”

_No… It's happening all over again._ Geoff thought.

«~•~»

_“Listen to me! You're going out of control! You need to calm down!”_

_“I will not! Don't you see what's happening? They're going to betray us!”_

_“You're being ridiculous!”_

_“Am I?”_

_“Yes!”_

_“You're… you're working with them, aren't you? You're betraying me too? What about the others? Them too?!”_

_“You need to calm down.”_

_“So, it's true…”_

_“No, now take a breather, will ya?”_

_“No…”_

_“Wh-what are you doing?”_

_“I'm doing what I should've done years ago.”_

_“Wait! What are you — **AAAGHH**!”_

_“I'm sorry it had to come to this.”_

_“What is go —Oh my god… What… What have you done…?”_

_“I'm ridding this place of insubordination… Forever.”_

_“Like hell, you are!”_

«~•~»

His previous gang’s allies had turned against the majority of them and Geoff knew they had to get out of there. Unfortunately, most of them didn't make it out.

After all, he was the only one to survive other than his enemies.

_Protect him, will ya?_ He heard Trevor say to him telepathically.

_Of course,_ Geoff promised. _Take care of yourself and please don't die._

_Not in a million years._

“Trevor, wait!” Jeremy shouted and took a step forward to follow the other, but Geoff had quickly grabbed him and pulled him back. When Jeremy turned to look at him, Geoff shook his head, but Jeremy tugged his arm free and walked over to where Trevor once stood. He watched as Jeremy crouched and picked up whatever Trevor dropped. Jeremy took out his own necklace and popped the star out of the key around his neck, slotting the star into Trevor’s necklace. It fit. “I'm sorry.”

Geoff’s breath hitched.

«~•~»

_The four of them were running for their lives against a madman who was determined to catch them and make their lives hell. Looking around cautiously, Geoff concluded that they were safe enough to rest for an hour or two, but the others disagreed with that. Geoff sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Look, we’re all clearly exhausted. If we end up fighting them, at least we’ll have the energy to fend them off.”_

_”We can't.” An Australian voice said quietly. “We can't risk any of us getting caught or dying. We have to continue with the future.”_

_Shocked, Geoff’s jaw dropped and he looked incredulously at her, “You mean, you_ want _these innocent kids to live a life like this? No, they have to make the decision themselves. No one will force them into this business! They could have such a better life than helping me rid the world of our enemy. Caiti, we can't do this to them.”_

_”I know, but it's his dying wish.” Caiti reminded him reluctantly._

_Geoff hopefully looked over at his best friend, “You can't tell me you agree with this bullshit too, Shannon.” Out of everyone, Shannon knew what was best even if Geoff didn't agree with most of his decisions._

_Shannon nodded and Geoff sighed, knowing that these were one of those times. “I'm sorry, but it's not like we can change the future, Geoffrey.”_

_Then, Geoff turned to the one person he trusted enough to give his entire life to. “Griffon… please, not you too.”_

_Before she could answer, however, an explosion occurred behind them as they covered themselves from the blast before bolting away from it. After they decided they were safe enough away, they stopped and looked at the culprit. “How did they find us so quickly?!” Shannon asked._

_”Hello, little runaways. You think you could escape me that easily?” A booming voice asked and laughed. “Now stay right where you are and it'll be painless, I promise.” None of them seemed phased by his words and he was mildly surprised when they started taking more steps back away from him. “Well then, I guess it's the hard way then.” He started walking toward them. Fear was nowhere to be seen on him._

_Griffon stepped forward and clenched her hands into fists. “Run.” She commanded the others as Geoff stared at her in disbelief._

_”You can't be serious!”_

_”I am!” Griffon countered._

_”Like hell, are we leaving you behind!” Geoff shouted._

_”Damnit Geoff, just listen to me for once in your goddamn life!” She yelled and kept her eyes on their enemy who was walking over to them agonizingly slow. “You have a mission and you know exactly what you have to do. We were supposed to be vigilantes, but we were betrayed by an ally. Someone we thought we could trust. I mean look at us. We lost so many people, but there's so many more out there that need your help and you know exactly who those kids are. So please, for the love of God, earn those kids’ trust and lead them to their prosperous future.”_

_”Griffon no!” Geoff stepped forward to grab her, but Shannon had pulled him back. “Please, don't do this!” He reached for her, but she was getting farther away from him._

_”Change our future, Geoff, I know you can.” She raised her fists and pulled back before hardening her fist and attempting to connect it with their enemy’s face, but he dodged it easily._

_”NO GRIFFON!” Geoff yelled at the top of his lungs. Using all his might, Shannon tugged him away and ran as Griffon’s figure soon disappeared into the horizon._

”You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.”

«~•~»

In the distance, a shot rang out and echoed loudly throughout the empty silence. Everyone’s heads whipped to look in the direction that Trevor went as their eyes widened in shock. However, Jeremy’s grip tightened on the two pendants and didn't even bother to acknowledge the shot. Slowly, Ray walked over to Jeremy and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “I'm sorry…”

“Why did you stop me?” Jeremy asked and looked up from the pendant to look in the direction Trevor fled.

“What do you mean why?” Geoff’s voice was dry and raspy, he flinched at the sound of it. He cleared his throat, but he knew that it wouldn't help.

Jeremy turned to Geoff and looked at him, pushing past Ray and slowly walking towards the Kingpin. “Why did you stop me from following him?” He asked firmly, a deep fire could be seen in his irises.

“He was unpredictable,” Geoff answered seriously. “He could've killed you.”

“Why would he do that?” Jeremy asked immediately.

“You're the one who thought of him as a monster.” Michael murmured.

Jeremy swiftly turned in his direction and glared angrily at him, walking over and pointing accusingly at him. “You're the one who fucking started it! Now he's gone!”

Michael scoffed, “Good riddance.” The next thing he knew he was on the ground and suffocating from the lack of air as Jeremy practically crushed his windpipe with his gloved hands.

“You asshole…” The informant shook with rage as Michael tried to inhale and clawed at Jeremy’s hands. “It's all your fucking _fault_!”

“Jeremy!” Mica shouted and ran over, attempting to pry him off of Michael. However, he shoved her away with one gloved hand.

“Jeremy stop!” Geoff yelled and took a step forward to help Mica, but Ray outstretched his arm in front of him to stop him. “What are you doing?!”

Ray shook his head, “It's time to show you the Special that he has tried so hard to hide away. Michael!” Ray could feel his eyes burning.

Eyes widening, Michael frantically shook his head, “I… can't…”

“Your pent-up rage, Michael, you have to,” Ray said, but Michael shook his head and tried to kick Jeremy off of him. “It's been more than ten years, you have to release it.” Frowning in response, Jeremy’s grip on his neck lessened as Michael was able to take a deep breath and push him off. Jeremy fell back and quickly shielded himself from an oncoming punch from Michael. “Michael!”

“I'm not doing it, Ray!”

“It's going to build up.”

“Then let it! I'm not putting everyone else at risk!”

“You have to!”

“I’M NOT _FUCKING_ DOING IT!” Michael roared and dodged as a fireball was quickly thrown at him. “What the fuck?!”

“I'm not letting you kill yourself like this,” Ray said and threw another fireball at the other as Michael took steps back to evade the fire from burning him.

“Ray stop!” Michael shouted.

“No.” He said simply and threw another.

“You can't make me do it!”

“Watch me…” Another.

“Ray!”

Another.

“Stop!”

More fire.

“I won't!”

“You will.”

“I'd rather die!”

“Why?”

“You know why!”

Ray scoffed and momentarily stopped throwing fireballs at him, “It's time for you to face your fear, Michael Jones.”

«~•~»

A shot rang out.

In Gavin’s room, Kdin briefly stopped typing on her computer and looked at the window, frowning. Caleb paused and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out. “What is it?” Gavin asked worriedly and sat up straighter, wincing a bit.

“I'm not sure, but it looks like the others are back,” Caleb answered and frowned when they saw the others yelling at each other. “They're fighting out there.” They gasped and moved away from the window when they saw Jeremy body slam Michael to the ground. “Shit… I'm going to find out what's happening out there.”

“Why, is it that bad?” Kdin asked as they walked to the door and opened it. They took a step out the door, but Kdin shouted their name. “Caleb!”

They stopped and turned to look at her, “Stay here, guys. I don’t want to patch Gavin up for like the fourth time this week.” Caleb closed the door and ran down the stairs, bumping into Ryan who quickly caught them and righted them. “Sorry…”

“It’s okay. What’s your hurry?” Ryan asked as Caleb frowned.

“You didn’t hear the gunshot?”

He shook his head and quickly looked out the window, pushing the curtains away and widening his eyes when a fireball flew straight at the window. Ryan shoved Caleb away from the window and covered them completely from the blast if it were to break the window. Luckily, it didn’t. Ryan turned and frowned, “Why is Ray throwing fireballs at the house?”

Caleb looked up at the window that had a single flame on it, but it was extinguished almost immediately. “I don’t know, but Michael and Jeremy were fighting out there. Maybe Ray’s fighting Jeremy now too.”

“Let’s check.” Ryan stood up and held out a hand, helping the other up and running to the front door. He swung it open and quickly closed the door when a fireball came their way. The fire exploded on impact and engulfed the door, but it dissipated soon after. Taking a deep breath, Ryan opened the door cautiously and let out a breath, relieved that the fire was not spreading on the house. He looked over to the others and his eyes widened when he saw Ray throwing fireballs at Michael who was yelling at him.

“I’d rather die!” Michael had shouted.

“Why?”

“You know why!”

Ray stopped his onslaught of hurling fire at Michael as Ray’s eyes glowed golden and Caleb frowned. Hurriedly, Caleb looked for Trevor to see if he was controlling Ray, but he was nowhere in sight. _Maybe it’s not Trevor,_ Caleb thought. Ray’s voice brought Caleb back to the task at hand. “It’s time for you to face your fear, Michael Jones.” He raised his hand as fire slowly consumed his hand and crackled mockingly at Michael.

Multiple voices screamed at the fire user as he threw the fire at Michael and they all tried to save Michael who refused to move from his spot. It’s because he knew. Michael knew that if he didn’t take the hit then someone else would get hurt. So he watched almost in slow motion as the ball of fire came at him and the heat increased. However, nothing hit him and he briefly couldn’t breathe. The fire seemed to disappear in a blink of an eye before it even reached him and everyone watching was stunned into silence, not daring to move in case something else happened.

Then, Andy materialized into view and slowly turned to face Michael whose eyes widened in horror when he saw the burn marks and blood on Andy’s arms and abdomen. He entered a coughing fit and crumbled to the ground as Michael crouched next to him to see if he was okay. “Oh… my god… Why?” He asked shakily as Andy just shook his head. Angrily, Mica sped to Andy and shoved Michael away, carefully picking up Andy and hurrying into the house. “Wait!” Michael shouted after them, but they were already gone.

They all stood in silence as they all tried to process what had just happened. Geoff and Caleb couldn’t stop staring at Ray. Jack could only watch as Ray fell to his hands and knees, repeatedly punching the ground because of what he had done and mumbling to himself. Ryan refused to walk over to Ray and help him up because he wasn’t sure if Ray was on their side anymore. Michael stared at the house and frowned. _No, this isn’t happening… Not again._ Michael thought and shakily stood, slowly walking over to the building, but Jeremy stood in front of him and halted him.

“No,” Jeremy said simply as Michael looked at him sadly.

“Please,” Michael begged, “Let me see him… See if he’s okay.”

“Leave,” Jeremy firmly stated and looked at the others. “All of you, leave. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

“You have to let me see him… Please!” He pleaded uncharacteristically.

«~•~»

_Michael slowly opened his eyes and looked down at himself, he was on his knees on asphalt. Was he on the road? The next thing he saw was flashing lights. Red and blue flashing lights. Were the cops after someone? He felt hands grab him and pull him up to his feet, but his legs buckled under him and the people holding him had to keep him up. Did he do something wrong? Shaking his head, Michael searched his surroundings and his eyes immediately went wide when he saw an ambulance and medics pushing a stretcher toward the ambulance. Was that… his mother? “MOM?!” Michael yelled desperately with a raspy voice. He suddenly felt adrenaline and strength run throughout his body and he took a step forward, but the two people holding him back pulled him farther away from the ambulance. “What are you doing? I didn’t do anything wrong!” He shouted._

_Someone hit him to make him buckle, but Michael could only feel the adrenaline pumping through him. ”Shut up.” The one to his right said as Michael slumped forward and breathed deeply. Why were they taking him to the police car? What did he do?_

_He looked up and blinked a couple times to focus his vision on the stretcher that was getting farther and farther away from him. “No… please, let me see my mom…” He requested quietly._

_The one on the right laughed, “Hell no, kid. You almost killed her just a couple seconds ago. You’re not seeing her ever again.”_

_”I did… What?” Michael asked shakily. He shook his head frantically and turned to the officer to his left, “No… I-I would never do that… Why would I…?” Michael looked down and contemplated. He would_ never _hurt his mother in his life; he would never even think about laying a violent finger on her. She's taken care of him for his entire life, even standing up to his father who constantly drank and abused the money they barely received on alcohol._

_”I don't know, kid, but your ability makes you go berserk.” The officer to his left said quietly as Michael’s eyes widened._

_”Ability?” Michael asked fearfully as the two officers exchanged unsure looks before turning back to Michael. “What do you mean by ability?” He asked in confusion._

_”You hit your head or something? Your ability is going completely nuts and hurting anyone in your reach. We saw it ourselves. You're a Special.” The one to his right answered as Michael gave them both the most puzzled look they'd ever gotten. They reached the police car and put Michael in the back as the younger seemed to be lost thinking about something, the policemen weren't sure._

_The left officer turned to the other and frowned, “What are you doing?”_

_”What do you mean? He's crazy! Might as well send him to the madhouse.”_

_”Murphy, he's just a kid.” The left one reasoned._

_”He's seventeen! He’s going, Connor!” Murphy outstretched his arms in exasperation._

_”He doesn't even know what's he's done,” Connor said calmly, almost disappointed in Murphy’s attitude. “I believe he doesn't even know what a Special is. He lived his entire life, living like that not even knowing he's one of them. If he’s lived like that, he should keep living like that. Imagine what that’d do to him if we told him. I feel bad for him, Murph.”_

_Murphy frowned, but before he could question the other a teenager quickly ran toward the stretcher and they ran after him. Murphy leaped and tackled him to the ground, “Whoa, calm down! You're supposed to be behind the tape!”_

_”Let go of me! I need to see her!” The teen said as Connor crouched in front of him and watched him carefully as he struggled. The younger looked up at him desperately, “Please, she's the only person that takes care of us. I need to know if she's okay.” Connor glanced at the police car that they trapped Michael in. Michael was watching worriedly and kept his protective eyes on the other teen. He looked about ready to explode. Were they brothers?_

_”You are not going to—” Murphy started and firmly pinned him to the ground._

_”Murph…” Connor said quietly. “Let him go.” Both the kid and Murphy froze and looked at him in disbelief. Slowly, Murphy let go of the teen and helped him up as the kid dusted himself off._

_”Thank you…” He said softly._

_”What's your name kid?” Connor asked._

_”Ray. Ray Narvaez Jr.”_

_Connor nodded and sighed, “Hey Murphy, can you go check on the Jones boy while I escort Ray to his caretaker.”_

_Frowning, Murphy slightly shook his head, “You sure, Conn?” Connor simply nodded and started escorting Ray to the ambulance as Ray looked over his shoulder at Michael who watched him desperately. Murphy watched them leave before sighing and hurried to the police car, opening the driver side door and getting in. “Hey, is that your brother?” He asked after a while._

_Michael glanced at the other but slouched back into his seat when he realized he couldn’t see Ray or his mother anymore. He crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, “Yea…” Looking down, Michael furrowed his brows and frowned, sitting up and moving over so he could examine the other’s facial expressions. “Hey uh… What were you talking about when you said Specials? And why were you guys talking like I have a superpower? None of that is real, right?”_

_Turning to the kid, Murphy pursed his lips and decided to lie to the kid, as per Connor’s request. “No, it’s not. We like putting fear into our prisoners just for the hell of it, but…” Murphy sighed, “You’re just a kid, so we shouldn’t do that. Sorry.”_

_Slowly nodding, Michael processed the information. ”Is my mom okay?” Michael asked quietly._

_”I don’t know.”_

_”Can I see her?”_

_Murphy shook his head and sighed, “I’m sorry, but you can’t.” Devastated, Michael sat back in the seat and pulled his knees up to hug them closer to himself as he quietly sobbed into them. Murphy looked away and refused to give in. For all he knew, it was all an act._

«~•~»

“You need to leave,” Jeremy repeated firmly. An unknown fire and rage were in his eyes and everyone was not brave enough to test the flames, so slowly they started getting in the cars and leaving.

Geoff was the first to move. He turned to the others and nodded, “Let’s go. Jack, ready the cars. Ryan, take Michael and Ray in one of the cars, you’re driving. Caleb, get Gavin and Kdin.”

Taking one step forward, Caleb was stopped by Jeremy who shook his head. “You’re helping Andy first, then you get to leave.”

“I’M _NOT_ LEAVING!” Everyone looked over and frowned at Michael’s reaction to Ryan trying to guide him to the car, but the wildcard refused to leave until he saw Andy’s condition.

Ryan sighed, “Michael, you can’t.”

“Michael…” Ray said quietly as the aforementioned turned to him and clenched his jaw and hands.

Michael pointed at him accusingly, “If you hadn’t thrown those fireballs then we wouldn’t be in this situation! What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

Ray shook his head, “I-I don’t know… Something just came over me and _made_ me. Michael, I’m sorry.”

“Shove your fucking empty apologies down your goddamn throat!” Michael shouted. “You _promised_ me you wouldn’t! How could you betray me like this, Ray? Why?” Michael’s voice lowered to just barely a whisper. “Were you the one that caused what happened before?”

“No, Michael, I would never—”

“But you did… You just did, Ray.” Michael turned to Jeremy and asked one last time, _hopefully_ , Jeremy would understand. “Please… I just can’t deal with the fact that someone sacrificed themselves for me. I need to know if he’s okay.”

Jeremy studied Michael with narrowed eyes and saw the sorrow and pain that he was enduring. He guessed that he felt the same when Trevor always saved him and got hurt in the process. It wasn’t the same, but it was close enough. He knew what Michael was feeling, but that was exactly why he didn’t want the wildcard to see Andy. In his haste, he could do something rash and injure Andy further even if he was trying to be cautious around the younger. Jeremy shook his head, “You won’t see him, but Caleb will inform you if he’s okay. That’s it.” With that, he turned and walked toward the house as Caleb gave Michael a sympathetic look and followed the other. Michael looked down and huffed before turning and brushing passed Ray who wanted to desperately talk to his brother, but he refrained because he knew that he had made a huge mistake and absolutely _nothing_ would result in Michael forgiving him.

Entering the room, Jeremy froze at the sight of Mica crying and pressing onto Andy’s bleeding abdomen as she quietly spoke to him and soothed him. Caleb entered the room and quickly moved to Andy’s side, but they were shoved away by Mica who shook her head. “Get away from us!” She said to them as Caleb turned to Jeremy and asked for permission.

Sighing, Jeremy nodded, “Mica, they’re the only one who could help him. Please, let them.”

She shook her head frantically as tears flowed down her cheeks, “Why’d you bring them here, Jer? All they brought to us was pain.”

“Mica…” Jeremy said, but couldn’t figure out what else to say to her. Instead, he settled on, “You have to let them help him.”

“Fuck you, Jeremy. You should just go with them. I thought you were the same person, but I was wrong. We shouldn’t have tried to track you down. You brought them here!” Mica shouted. “You were the one who Trevor trusted the most. He respected your judgment. He followed you without hesitation. He knew that you would _never_ judge him for who he was. I judged him, Andy judged him and that resulted in him not trusting us for a really long time. I'm so disappointed in you, Jeremy. Trevor trusted you so much that he didn't have to know what you were thinking because he knew that you'd always support him. But then you judged him. You called him a _monster_.” She spat out the word so venomously that Jeremy flinched at the harshness. “You were the only one who _never_ called him that. You're the only person he considers family for so many years until he was comfortable with Larry, Andy, and I. Do you know what you've just done to him?”

“Mica, I—”

She closed her eyes and shouted, “STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR YOURSELF! YOU BETRAYED TREVOR!” She sobbed and took a shaky breath. “Please, just leave…” Suddenly, a bloody hand shot up and tightly gripped Mica’s arm as she opened her eyes and saw Andy’s pained expression. Andy merely nodded and Mica understood him perfectly as she reluctantly looked up at Caleb. “You help him, but then you take the others and leave.” Her eyes shifted to Jeremy, “You're going with them.”

He shook his head, “I can't leave you guys like this.”

“Jer, you're the one who put us in this situation. You're leaving whether you like it or not.” Mica finalized and quickly added before she forgot, “Hand me your key. Both of your keys.”

Eyes widening, Jeremy instinctively grabbed his and Trevor’s necklaces and shook his head. “N-no, you can't—”

Then, the necklaces were suddenly gone and Mica held them up in front of him as blood stained them and they jingled mockingly at Jeremy who looked at her in shock. “Leave Jeremy, or I kick both of you out right now.”

Caleb turned to Jeremy, “I'm sorry…” They mumbled as Jeremy walked away and closed the door behind him. Jeremy solemnly walked down the hallway and kept his sight on the ground. She was right; it was all his fault Andy was dying.

_”You've lost them all. How does it feel?”_

“Shut up…” Jeremy muttered, clenching his hands into fists as his eyes burned.

_”How rude. I've tried time and time again to warn you that this would happen.”_ The voice laughed mockingly at him, _”You should've listened to me, Jeremy.”_

“You're just a voice in my head trying to convince me to do something against my beliefs or some shit,” Jeremy said, mostly attempting to convince himself. He wasn't sure anymore.

_”Now, now, don't go around calling people names. That's rude. No wonder everyone left you.”_

“Ignore him and he’ll go away,” Jeremy mumbled to himself as he clenched his hands into fists.

The voice laughed, _”Why would you want to get rid of me? I'm all you've got, Dooley.”_ Exiting the building, Jeremy passed by Jack who worriedly watched him get in one of the cars and appear to stare at nothing in particular. From what she saw, Jack could easily tell that Jeremy was having a worse day than everybody else. He lost everyone close to him; that's the only reason he'd be coming with them.

Closing his eyes, Jeremy hated how right the voice was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this trainwreck of a chapter, next one hopefully on Thanksgiving!


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